Hyperdimension Null Rebirth
by Touhoufanatic
Summary: AU. Failing her familiar summoning ritual, Louise valliere runs away, only to meet an untimely end. however the situation becomes strange when she wakes up in the world of Gameindustri, as the newly formed younger sister of CPU Green Heart! Rated T, for now. Rebirth 2 arc - complete! Rcconquista war arc - start!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors forward: First off, this story comes as a request from fanfic user 3697014, that after much deliberating and questioning, convinced me give it a shot. I am giving it a shot as an attempt to hopefully fix my block on messiah. If it works, great, if not, I have another fic for people to enjoy.**

 **As it is Hyperdimension, expect madness later on, though not immediately. It will also be a little less serious, and will not have a set update schedule after the third chapter so I can keep working on my primary story.**

 **Please enjoy the madness.**

Gameindustri, a land where four goddesses rule over their own lands, trading and competing with the others to advance and better their lands, while protecting their people from the monsters that roamed it. The people belief forms share energy that forms the goddess's strength, and with this strength, the strength of faith, the world is protected.

However, sometimes share energy acts in ways that no one expects, creating CPU Candidates, sisters, for the goddesses to love and care for and to be cared for in turn. Four such sisters came into creation, one in the land of Planeptune, one in the land of Lastation, and two in the land of Lowee, leaving the goddess of Leanbox sadly lacking in the sibling department.

At least until a year later, when the shares answered her prayers.

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Louise Vallière opened her tired eyes and found herself looking up at a ceiling the color of warm cream and honey. Bright light covered the room, and a cool, but soft and sweet breeze blew into the room, creating a calming environment.

 **"** **YOU MEAN I FINALLY HAVE A SISTER?!"**

Calming, if not for the extremely loud yelling, muffled from outside of the room. The sudden noise caught Louise totally by surprise. She did not recognize the voice, and could now hear muffled voices as well, and pulled herself up to look around. The room's walls were yellow with green trim around the edges. A green carpet, the color of cool grass covered the floor, and a pair of pale green curtains, slightly transparent, blew lazily on either side of the room's only window.

"She's really very cute, isn't she lady Vert."

"Yes she is! My own little sister!"

Louise looked around for the voice's that were speaking and turned to her right. What she found was a person she did not recognize. The girl was interesting looking with bright blue eyes and blonde hair that was straight, reaching just down past her shoulders. her chest was accented by small, yet shapely breasts that were clearly visible, yet not overly large or in the way, and the rest of the girl's body was well shaped as well, curved in all the right places, but not out of proportion like some people Louise could think of. She was wearing a simple yet elegant pale green nightdress that fully covered her body, yet was held up with thin noodle like straps, showing off her shoulders and hair. She was quite simply, one of the most beautiful young women Louise had ever seen.

What was strange though was she was in a bed of all things, had she invaded someone's room? The thought crossed her mind and made Louise immediately feel embarrassed, and needing to say something. "Ah, um sorry i-"She began to say, until she noticed the girl's mouth moving as well.

Louise moved her hand up to her face, touching her cheek to find it soft. The girl in front of her moved the exact same way she did. Then she noticed the border around the girl, the frame of what was very clearly, a mirror.

Louise looked away from the mirror and down at her lap, only then realising she was sitting up in a bed with cream colored sheets in a pale green nightgown she had never seen before, unless she counted the mirror a few seconds ago. Then she took her hand and touched her hair, bringing it in front of her face. It was blonde, and shorter, likely down to just past her shoulders.

It wasn't someone else she had seen in the mirror. It was herself!

Louise watched herself go pale as she looked at the mirror again, touching her face all over, then her arms, and even going so far as to touch her own breasts, feeling them and their shape. It was all her, she felt it all, and saw it in the mirror! "B-but why, why am I blonde? Blue eyes? Why- why do I suddenly have hips and curves and, and, and assets!?" She asked herself, unable to stop herself from wondering aloud.

"Phhhffff."

The sound of someone muffling a laugh grabbed her attention and pulled it around, to where a door was sitting, slightly ajar. "Who- Who's there?" Louise asked instantly, grabbing the bed sheets and pulling them up over her chest, the thin strapped nightdress suddenly far too thin for her liking.

The door immediately opened, allowing Louise to see one woman that made her eyes go wide. She was very tall with blonde hair down the entire length of her back at least, and eyes the color of the ocean. She was extremely curvaceous, and her breast were larger than any other woman's she had ever seen, yet seemed to fit her somehow. She stepped into the room, hips and hair swaying as she did, and stepped up to the end of the bed with a beaming smile on her face. "I'm sorry for that, Chika was getting a little rowdy." she explained as she gesture to the door where she could see the edge of someone hiding behind the doorframe, just out of sight as she seemed to be shaking, or chuckling.

"Um, okay, who are you? Why am I here?" Louise asked quickly, hoping to sound imposing, but realizing her voice sounded slightly different, though she wasn't sure how.

"Ah of course, introductions are in order!" The woman said with a happy smile plastering her face as she clapped her hands together. "I am Vert, CPU of This land of Leanbox, also known as Goddess Green Heart! And of course you are here because you're my newly formed SISTER!"

Louise looked at vert for a full minute before what she said clicked into place. Their hair and eye colors were the same, so somehow she knew it was true, but still could only utter a single word of confusion.

"WHAT?!"

"Hmm, is something wrong?" Vert asked in a worried tone as she stepped around the bed, and then proceeded to place her forehead on Louise's, giving her a glimpse of deep cleavage.

Louise shifted back instantly, whacking her head against the headboard of the bed, making her wince in pain.

"Ah! Are you okay?" Vert instantly asked as she climbed onto the bed and leaned over to pull Louise closer and check her head.

Louise however was having none of it and pushed her away as she spoke, still wincing slightly, but mostly ignoring the throbbing from the back of her head. "N-no I'm not okay! You're making no sense!"

"What do you mean?" Vert asked, clearly worried as she leaned back a bit, noticing Louise's discomfort.

"You! I mean you!" Louise screamed, causing Vert to visibly lean back in shock and surprise, looking visibly hurt as she did. "Nothing you are saying makes sense! I don't know where this 'Leanbox' is, I already have two sisters, and you can't be a goddess because the founder is a god and there is only one! Even more you can't be a god because I can't be your sister and I can't be a goddess!"

Vert looked at Louise as she breathed heavily, clearly worked up. Chika however did not want to be so patient and stepped into the room, ready to give the girl a mouthful, until Vert put a hand up. "Chika, can you please cover the Basilicom for a while. I need to do this myself, you understand, yes?"

Louise looked up to see the woman named Chika. She was beautiful and stern looking, with long green hair and eyes that were like her mothers, they saw everything, or at least gave that impression. Chika nodded and stepped backwards out of the doorway. "I Understand Lady Vert, please call me if you need me and I shall arrive, in but an instant." She said before she closed the door, leaving Vert and Louise alone in the room.

Silence Reigned for what felt like an eternity as Vert sat on the edge of the bed, her long legs draped to the side as she looked at Louise with a soft gaze, waiting for her to be calm and speak on her own. After a few more moments it was clear however that Louise was waiting for vert to speak. "We look the same you know?"

"What?" Louise responded, taken surprise by Verts words.

"Look." Vert said as she glanced at the mirror, dragging Louise's gaze there as well. "Our hair is the same color; our eyes are the same color. Even the accents of our faces are similar. Even if I am older and you younger, we share a very obvious similarity, is it so hard to believe we are sisters?"

Louise's face easily told that she understood what Vert was saying, but she quickly shook her head and looked down at the bed. " No, it's impossible. Even if it, no it's impossible, you can't be my sister, and you can't be a goddess! That'd be Heretical!"

"Hardly when there are only four of us." Vert said with a light sift chuckle. "Why can I not be your sister though? why so adamant against it?"" She asked softly, not allowing the sadness she was feeling from her new sister's words to affect her.

"Because I have a sister already! I had two sisters!" Louise nearly shrieked, growing frantic for some odd reason.

"I see you," Vert paused for a second, noticing something amiss in the girls words. "Had?" She questioned.

"What?"

"You said you 'had' two sisters."

Louise looked at Vert, her expression going from frantic confusion to horror and sadness as her eyes filled with tears. "N-No no no no! I- I aaaaagh!" She suddenly burst out crying, dropping her head against her lap and hands, using the covers to hide her face.

"Hey, hey it's okay!" Vert said as she shifted and pulled Louise against her with no difficulty, holding her crying form against her. "it's alright, let it all out, let it out and tell big sister Vert what's wrong okay?"

After easily five minutes of crying, slightly calm, more crying, and low sobs, Louise finally spoke. "I – I remembered, it came back to me." She said as she sobbed into Verts chest.

"What did you remember?"

"I- I died!" Louise screamed, falling back into heavy sobs. "I- I failed the Ritual! I summoned a familiar, a great lizard, but, it was dead when I summoned it! I failed and was mocked and sent to my room to be sent home and- and. I couldn't take it! I left, I went into the forest, kicking and punishing myself with words and hate and, and, then night fell. I – I got scare and realized I made a mistake leaving the academy and going into the forest. I turned back, but I was found, found by wolves! I- my magic got one of them, I killed one with my failure of magic, but the others, they surrounded me and- and, and their teeth. aaaaaaaaaggghhh! I DIED! uuwwaaaaaaaggh!"

Vert silently held Louise, hugging her close as she cried and let it all out. She completely lost track of time, but once Louise calmed down a bit, Vert looked down at her head and softly spoke, barely more than a whisper. "Some people say that the soul is immortal."

"W-what?" Louise said as she sniffed.

"It means that a person's soul never dies. It said that when a person soul moves on to another life, it will forget its past life, but sometimes, it remembers it instead of forgetting it."

" . . You- you think I died and . . . came back, here?" Louise asked between sobs.

"It would explain why you know of your past life, when you are sure that you passed on." Vert said carefully, being sure not to say it too hard, or casually. Death was not something to speak casually of after all.

"Ugh, I . . . . . do you know a place called Halkeginia?"

"No, I've never hears of a place called that."

" . . What is this land, this place, called?"

"We are in Gameindustri, in Leanbox, Land of Green pastures. It is one of four lands, each ruled by a CPU, or Goddess."

"And you are one of those?"

"Yes. CPU Green heart is my official title, but my name is Vert, as People like the other CPU's and Chika call me."

" . . H-how did I. . Come to be here?"

" Leanbox's shares, the manifestation of peoples belief in us CPU's, reached a threshold. Though we truly do not understand it, you were created by this sudden spring of Shares and desires, and formed right here in this room, just like the Other CPU's sisters had."

"They appeared here?"

"Oh no, in rooms in their lands I meant."

" . . . . I- I really died, and came back to life in another world?" Louise asked, still against Verts body, and looking down at the bed and her lap.

"If you are sure that you did indeed . . . pass on, then it would explain knowing what happened to you."

"And in this world I-I'm your, sister?"

Vert smiled as she looked down. "Yes, you were formed by the people's belief, the shares and my desire for an adorable sister!"

"I'm, the sister of a goddess?"

"A CPU Candidate, yes. A Young Goddess I suppose."

" . . . I, I'm not sure I can deal with this." Louise said as she wrapped her arms around vert and held her close, willingly burying her head in Verts chest.

"It'll be okay. I'll be here for you." Vert said softly. "Can I know your name?"

Louise sniffed and held Vert tighter. "Louise. It's Louise."

"A beautiful name Louise. I'll do my best to be a great Big sister for you, my little sister Louise, and okay?"

" . . . . . . Okay. . . .Thank you. . . . . . . . Sis."

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"So, she's claiming that she's had a previous life?" Chika asked as she and Vert sat in a sitting room, a pot of freshly brewed tea on the table between them, and a glass of tea in their hands. After being alone with her new sister for over four hours, Vert figured it would be best to explain everything to Chika over a glass of tea, and considering the expression on Chika's face, she had been correct.

"Yes. Up until a few moments before she formed here, she had another life. One that was ended rather, viciously." Vert answered solemnly.

"And you believe that?"

"She is my sister, of course I believe her!" Vert said with a huff as he took a sip of tea. "Besides, no one can fake that kind of event, not those kinds of tears."

"So you don't think she's lying then?"

"She could not lie about that if she wanted too." Vert said surely.

"I see, so she refused to admit she's your sister then. How dare her! I'll-"

"She has admitted it." Vert said after another sip of ta, stopping Chika from continuing. "We talked about it for a long time. But she does now understand that her previous life is, past, and that she is my sister in this one."

"Oh? So she understands then?"

"Yes, though we both agreed that it will be difficult to forget a past life, and there will be many things to work past, both from her past life, and this new one."

"Is she still in her room?"

"Yes, recalling her own death was trying, as was learning of her new one. It broke apart many of her old beliefs, and as it is already the evening, I said we could continue speaking, and getting to know each other, tomorrow. She'll need the time to think to herself as well I think."

"Oh, I see. Shall I be able to meet her then?"

"We'll have to see. I am thinking of taking her out to see the city, as a chance to learn about Gameindustri and Leanbox.

"You should be careful then. Other than being seen by your people, lady Vert can be quiet busy when in the city after all."

"I know!" Vert said with a pout. "There's just so much Leanbox has to offer, that's why I told her to get a good rest!"

"As long as she does get a good rest and you both have a good breakfast." Chika said with a sigh. "I'll wake up early and make you both some breakfast. It'll be a good chance for me to get acquainted with her!"

"Oh, thank you so much Chika!"

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Louise sat on the bed of what was apparently now, her own room. She had pulled her legs up to her body and had her arms wrapped around them. The sheets lay down the bed, barely covering her feet. The light was off, making the room dim in the evening light.

She had spent hours in this room already. Some of it was her simply crying, but most of it was spent sitting beside Vert and talking; about everything. She understood the situation fully now, or at least mostly. She had died, and had somehow come to life again in another world, and in this world she was the younger sister to a goddess, making her a goddess as well. It was a lot to wrap her head around, but she did understand that was the situation. The problem was that it clashed with her past so seriously.

 **"OH comes on its not like it matters!"**

"It does matter. If I'm a goddess, that means, that the Brimiric faith was wrong, it was wrong all along and that, it's just-"

 **"So it was wrong, it's not like that matters now!"**

The other problem was that she was now arguing with herself. she wasn't sure if she was speaking both sides of the argument, or just imaging one side. She also wasn't sure if she was winning or losing, which was just as problematic.

"It does matter! If it's wrong, then what of all that teaching, those years of learning and failing at magic! Was it all for nothing?"

 **"Of course it was for nothing. Everyone served the word of a dead man from six thousand years ago! No one cared about anyone who couldn't do magic, and no one's probably even looking for me!"**

"No, that not true. The teachers-"

 **"Only cared about students that could actually cast magic! we saw it! No matter how hard I worked nothing came of it, and no teacher gave us any help for fear of getting blown up! Because I couldn't cast magic I was a pariah, hated by all and made fun of on anyone's whim!"**

"No, that's, that was because I always kept to myself when studying, because I was so intent on casting magic, I never spoke to anyone, never got angry at their teasing!"

 **"Oh, so I had to tell them stop to make them realize it was wrong now? Even my own family didn't bat an eye at me for being unable to cast magic! All I got was ashamed looks from them!"**

"No, Cattleya didn't-"

 **"Cattleya was the only one who saw past my ability to use magic! Eleonore scoffed at me, always saying I wasn't trying hard enough. Father barely even noticed my presence, and mother always looked upset over our existence, like we were a stain upon her honor!"**

"Well, that's. . . ."

 **"Why do you even care anyway? We've been reborn as a Goddess! We don't need to care about my old life, just this new one! We have a sister who already cares greatly for us, why care about the past?!"**

"Cattleya and even Eleonore will-"

 **"They'll be sad sure. But mother, father, the other students at the academy and its teachers? They won't care about our death! The rest of Halkeginia will not even know of us! It'll be kept quiet and no one will know!"**

" . . . . Henrietta will know."

 **". . . . . Yes, she'll know, and it will make her cry, but no one else will know, or care! She needs to get Stogner if she's going to be queen anyway, and maybe my death can help her with that if nothing else. It not like we helped her much anyway."**

"Yeah, that's true."

 **" . . Just think, it's a new life. We can learn more, and be more than we were before. And we can stay as far away from magic as we want to!"**

"Yeah, I guess so." Louise muttered as she slid down into her bed and felt exhaustion and sleep overtake her, images of her new sister, and the hopes of a new life filling her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: thank you to everyone who did the Review/fav/follow's thing; it's always nice to get feedback, especially when so many people are clearly intrigued by the idea itself. Now we're onto the second chapter, but first allow me to answer a few generic questions people have asked and insinuated wanting to know!**

 **1-** **1 -There will be action in Halk, but not immediately, as some things in Gameindustri happen first.**

 **2-** **2 -There will be a time difference between the two dimensions.**

 **3-** **3 -There will be at least 1, possibly 2 time skips after some set up and such. The first time skip will lead to the events of rebirth 2.**

 **4-** **4 -Before anyone asks, no I'm telling anything about lily ranks or possible pairings at this point in time.**

 **Now then, onto the show!**

The next morning found Louise up bright and early in her room. She had drifted to sleep at one point in the night while thinking to, and talking to, herself, but now it was like it never happened. She didn't feel overly worried or scared now. She still felt a bit sad, but the knowledge of a new life interested her greatly, and she didn't want to be held back by her many old failings.

Of course, this new life was also confusing the hell out of her, considering that it felt like knowledge was somehow dumped into her head despite never being told about it. She was the younger sister of the CPU, goddess green heart, who commanded the land of Leanbox. This she had been told, what she hadn't been told were the names of the other lands, their CPU's, what CPU and HDD meant, and a Petabyte's worth of other things. But somehow she knew them now as if she always had.

(And what the hell was a Petabyte!?)

Of course what she found most strange was the fact that she had begun going through drawers and finding clothing to wear, knowing exactly where everything was in the room, and that it would fit her, as if she was the one that had organized everything. It was very strange, though strange did not even begin to explain how she felt about most things at the moment.

Getting dressed she ended up wearing a simple, yet startling elegant outfit. She had a loose skirt that went down to her knees, as well as a short sleeved top that caused a small amount of her midriff to show. The top was a pale green in color, while the skirt was a deeper green with white and yellow accents around the edge and sides. Throwing some simple short socks and shoes on, she found the shoes to be a deep green as well. The clothing itself did not worry her, but what did was her bust. The shirt she had chosen was a button up shirt, but it could not hide her ample chest now, and she had been forced to put on a bra as well, something she was not overly familiar with due to the lack of need in the past.

As she headed to the rooms door she found a dark green vest hanging off of it, and curiously put it on. It was smooth and well made, with small pockets down at the bottom, and being even darker than her skirt, seemed to be a good contrast to her nearly white shirt. Deciding to leave the vest on, she left her room and entered the halls of the Basilicom, her stomach growling with need.

The halls of the Basilicom were much like her own room in a way. The walls were covered in green, with columns of white interspaced around. Portraits of landscapes and animals sat between columns, framed with gold. The handles of doors were made of some gold metal as well, and the large windows that were around were flanked by curtains of deep green, the same tone as her skirt and vest, and covered in a vine and leaf pattern. The halls themselves were massive, reminding her of a manor. There were an uncountable number of doors all around, but somehow she knew exactly what was where, like she had always lived in this massive building.

A minute later she was entering a large hall, a dining room with one large table and surrounded by chairs and adjoined to it, a kitchen were a warm and tasty fragrance wafted from freely. Peeking into the kitchen the sound of sizzling food, and the scent of breakfast tickled her nose, making her hum in admiration and expectation.

"Hmm, I someone there?"

Louise opened her eyes, realizing she had closed them while enjoying the smell, and saw someone looking at her with an inquisitive eye. She was tall and well-shaped, with long mint colored hair, but had a stern gaze and air to her. It was then Louise noticed she was only halfway in the room, partially hiding behind the doorframe.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." Louise said in a panic as she stood up and bowed to the woman. "I smelled the food and um, I apologize!"

The woman looked at Louise for a moment before smiling. "Ah I almost didn't recognize you in regular clothing. There is no need to apologize Lady Louise."

"Y-you know me?" Louise asked in surprise.

"Of course! While I was, sent away partway through, I was nearby when you first materialized yesterday. The woman said with a bow. "Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am Chika Hakozaki. I am the oracle of Leanbox, who acts as assistant to your sister, and a sort of secretary for the Basilicom when she is unable to or otherwise dealing with other business."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you" Louise responded with another bow, unsure what else to do.

" Now now, there's no need for that! You are Lady Verts adorable little sister, so you need not bow to anyone!" Chika chastised with a wave of her finger before she turned partly back to the stove and gripped a pan while still looking at Louise. "Breakfast will be done in a few minutes; however Lady Vert hasn't shown yet. I honestly expected her to go wake you up, but I think she'd be very happy if you went to woke her up. She'd been waiting for a sister for a long time after all!"

Louise felt that, while Miss Chika said it as a suggestion, she meant it as more than that, so she quickly nodded and back stepped out of the room, and headed out into the halls again. She needed to wake up Vert, to wake up her sister. It still felt strange to think of, but at the same time natural, like it was supposed to be. "Ugh, this is going to play havoc with my head!" Louise complained to herself as she walked down the halls, past her own bedroom to a few rooms further down and opened the door.

Entering her sister's room, she found it absurdly dark. Verts bed sat against a wall at the back of the room, while across from it was massive computer system with no less than six screens arrayed in front of it, two separate mice on the desk, and three keyboards of different designs. Vert herself was sitting in the chair at the desk, her face and bust, lying on the desk as a handheld controller sat limply in her hands, nearly falling out onto the floor.

As Louise got closer she could see that the screens were showing a paused screen of a game of some sort. She wasn't sure what, but judging from the changing textbox in the corner, it was likely an online game and. . .

And how did she even know what that was?!

Louise let out a sigh, giving up on understanding how she knew it. Maybe it was like, having basic knowledge of her new life, being that she wasn't born as a baby in this one, or maybe it was knowledge all CPU's needed to know, though she doubted that idea. Whatever it was she shoved it outside of her immediate thoughts and reached over to one of the mice, moving it around till she found the games options and clicked the log out button. Then she gently took the controller out of Verts hand so it would not fall, placed it on the desk, and gently began shaking Vert's shoulder.

Vert stirred and groggily sat up and looked around with a yawn." Ugh, Chika I'm not-" Vert stopped when she saw Louise looking at her, and her face went from sleepy to energized in a single second as she leapt out of her chair and hugged Louise " Oh I was thinking it was a dream for a moment but it wasn't! Oh good morning my adorable sister!"

"Ugh, can't breathe, too much!" Louise managed to choke out as her face was pressed into Verts chest. Seriously she was big! . . . . . .Would she get that big too being was she was her sister now? A part of her secretly looked forward to it.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Vert exclaimed as she released her younger sister from the breast suffocation hug and stepped back, causing her chair to get nudged. "I slept in after all my gaming didn't I? Ooh, Chika is going to be upset with me!"

"Um, not really. Its morning. I found the kitchen and Chika was there making breakfast. She asked me to wake you up."

"Oh Chika really does understand me!" Vert said happily as she ran over to a wardrobe, "I'll be right down once I clean myself up a bit and put on some cleaner clothes, alright? It will just take a few minutes!"

True to Verts words it only took her a few bare minutes to shower and get dressed again, following Louise down back to the dining room with a smile on her face. The breakfast as promised by Chika was very tasty, and by the time it was done Vert was so hyped up that she very nearly dragged Louise out of the Basilicom by her wrist, intent on showing her everything!

The beautiful streets, the massive buildings of white and green the upraised streets and sections of city, allowing field of green to grow beneath them. The massive software firms, processing companies and industry, the game stores. Vert showed Louise all she could, but by the time she had gotten so far, it was already the afternoon, and Louise was famished, clearly exhausted, and having difficulty keeping up with her elder sisters seemingly boundless energy.

"Two mega sandwich platters please." Vert said to a Waitress as the two of them walked onto a patio of a café and took a seat by one table at the edge, shaded by a great tree. "So, what do you think so far?"

"It's," Louise took a gasp for air, just as a waiter came by with glasses of water, which she quickly grabbed and drank both in one go before thanking the waiter and apologizing to him. "It's amazing. Everything is so big and sleek. And there's so much greenery despite that! The air is so clean and everyone looks so happy." Louise explained, remembering how commoner often looked tired all the time.

"That's good to hear! What did you think of the game shops and theatre?"

"Um . . . "

"Something wrong?"

"It's just. Such things never existed in my previous life, but I somehow know exactly what they are if I think about it for a second. It's a little strange, just knowing what things I've never heard of before are."

"Ah, I see. You're probably feeling like that because you remember your past life. I've heard the other CPU candidates just knew much about the world as it was. You do as well, but your old knowledge makes it harder to comprehend I guess."

"Oh. . . .Other candidates?"

"Oh, did I not mention them? The other CPU's have CPU Candidates, younger sisters, as well. Though I have not met them, and have only heard a little bit of them." Vert explained as a waitress brought them two large plates of assorted sandwiches. In the past Louise would have thought it was far too much food for just two people, but she was so hungry she did not care and instantly grabbed one, eating it as fast as she possibly could without looking ridiculous or rude.

"W- Excuse me," Louise tried to say before stopping to finish the sandwich she was eating and clearing her mouth with a glass of water. "Why is that?"

"Well, we all may be Friends and allies, but our nations are also rivals. There has been a lot going on these past few years as well, so no one has had much time to simply meet for pleasure before business."

"Oh. What kind of business?"

"Well CPU's govern their land of course, solve legal issues between companies in our lands, assist in the spread of the people faith and belief as well as solve social problems. All of these produce a substantial quantity of paperwork that must be filed and understood. And of course, monsters are always an issue, and sometimes the guild cannot handle them all on their own"

" Monsters?"

"Yes, monsters often form from scrap pieces of floating junk data, or often just randomly in the environment away from the cities. Most are of a strength that the Guild can take care of them, but sometimes there are monsters so strong, or in such vast numbers, that The CPU must act to get rid of them! The nation of Lastation is well known for their CPU, Black heart, going out on monsters hunts on a regular basis."

"You too?"

"Yes, though often Leanbox's Special missions department can deal with them, so I may focus on the Basilicoms paperwork."

"And online games?"

"Th-that's just a pastime, that's all!" Vert defended herself with a stutter; making it clear to Louise she'd have to watch out for that.

"I see, so it's not like everything is perfectly peaceful then."

"Of course not, but true peace would be dangerous, because then all of our nations would target each other instead of simply being business and share rivals. It happened in the past and did nothing for us." Vert said as she began humming to herself as she took a drink of water and placed it back down on the table. "I think that is where we shall head to first!"

"Where?"

"The Guild of Course!" Vert said enthusiastically. As she finished her water. "I know it may seem awfully soon, but a CPU needs to know how to at least defend themselves from monster, even if they cannot defeat them!"

"Wait, you want me to fight monsters?"

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to fight them personally, but we at least need to find what sort of weapon suits you!"

"But we haven't even finished lunch!" Louise exclaimed, only then realizing how hungry she still felt.

"Oh my. It seems my adorable little sister has quiet the appetite to her. You have finished all the food after all!"

Louise looked down to see that both plates were completely empty, and that all the crumbs were on her side of the table. How did she eat so much without realizing it? "Oh, um." Louise began to say, until her stomach let out a growl.

"We'll order some dessert and then head to the guild, how does that sound?"

Louise shrunk down in her seat and nodded. "Sorry."

"It's nothing to be sorry about. This is technically your second real meal, so there's nothing to be sorry for. We'll have as much as you need, then head over to the guild. Okay?"

"Okay . . . . . sis."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: okay this chapter is fun, as was picking Louise's weapon type. I'm sure some people will disagree with my choice, but I feel it fits for a couple reasons and will be fun. So we're going with it!**

 **Let the madness continue, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy!**

The Guild, Louise discovered, was an absolutely massive building on the outside, and even larger within. A long counter was filled with workers helping guild members, and dozens of Columns, every side covered in computer terminals, sat with people looking them over. Further in she could see that the hall was much larger, and on the walls and at tables interspaced around she could see many people chatting with each other.

What surprised her most however was the feel of the whole building. Every person was armed to the teeth with blades, bludgeons, guns, cannons, explosives and anything else that could even slightly constitute a weapon, and some things that couldn't. The clothing everyone wore was extremely varied as well, with some people wearing physical armour, and some few people, both men and women, wearing almost nothing at all. The air had a sort of loose tenseness to it, like everything was calm but could become serious at the drop of a hat, and above that Louise could feel that the combine strength in this room alone would be enough to fell a small army.

Vert had roughly explained what the guild was and did, but if all these people worked for the guild, even just off and on, how much military strength was here? If such an organization had existed in Halkeginia, just how much safer would it have been, for both the nobles and the commoners?!

Walking in with a purposeful and confident stride, Vert crossed the main area to the counter on the far left side. Louise kept up with her, but noticed many of the guild agents were looking at them with strange gazes. She couldn't tell if they were confusion or interest, or a combination of both though.

"Good afternoon how might I-" the clerk at the counter stope midsentence as she looked up from the screen before her, going slightly pale. "L-Lady Green heart!? Ah I- I'm sorry I did not see you. Did you, I mean, Can I help you?"

"I believe that you can yes. I need to have a Guild Registration done and the Guild card for it made." Vert said with a soft smile.

"Ah, but . . . I mean, you already are registered with the guild. Did something happen to your card?"

"Ah my apologies, it is not for me." Vert said as she moved to the side a bit, moving Louise by her shoulder until she was clearly in view of the clerk. "It's for my sister!"

" Wha- then it finally happened?! You have a sister! Leanbox has a CPU Candidate?" The Clerk asked in surprise, while muttering and conversation in the rest of the room picked up. Louise could clearly hear people talking about her, though she couldn't tell if it was good, or not so good.

"Yes we indeed do," Vert said with a smile. "This is my younger sister, Louise."

"Ah," The guild clerk exclaimed as she stood up from her seat and bowed to Louise. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Um, likewise." Louise said uncertainly. She wasn't sure how to react. Commoners had always given a noble their dues, but grudgingly, and never had anyone bowed to her and so seriously meant it. It felt weird and foreign.

"We decided it would be best to register her while we came to decide upon what her preferred weapon would be." Vert explained with a smile.

"Ah, of course, then please place your hand on the device!" The clerk said as she sat down and tapped on her keyboard a bit. A second later a device popped out in front of Louise, shaped for a palm to rest on it.

Doing as asked Louise placed her palm on it, noticing how small her hand was compared to the indent, as it began glowing. A second later the glowing stopped and with a dinging sound, a small card came out of a slot just above her hand. Understanding what it was, Louise took it out.

"That is your guild card. It is required to access the Terminals to accept and turn in quests." The Clerk said with a smile. "Currently you are Rank E, and can only accept quests of that rank. As you complete quests you will rewarded with money, items and points that over time will add up and increase your rank, allowing you to take on more difficult, but more rewarding quests!"

"Thank you. We'll need to use one of the practice rooms, and have a basic assortment of weaponry available to test out, if you would." Vert said warmly.

"Of course!" The clerk replied as she tapped her keyboard a few times more. It made Louise scowl as she realized what the noise was, despite still not having used a computer yet! "There. Practice room seventy one is open for you and the assortment of practice weapons will be there as well." The clerk spoke up again, pulling Louise out of her internal thoughts.

"Thank you." Vert said as she bowed her head slightly and took a step back before looking to Louise. "Shall we?"

"R-Right." Louise replied as they walked away from the counter. Louise could see people glancing at her, most talking to others and tapping on mobile phones or computers. Then she recalled the ranking, and curiosity got the better of her as she followed vert down a wide hallway. "Um, what is your guild rank?"

"Hmm, oh yes. My Guild rank is currently Rank B. But that is because I don't do guild quests very often. Rank can go down if you don't do any quest for an extended period as well. They don't want people hurting themselves from getting rusty I suppose."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense . . . and the guilds, people help protect everyone else from monsters?"

"Yes, they also do simple fetch quests, gathering herbs and items that can be used to create goods and items as well. They are an important part of our economy and lifestyle, and are for the most part very well respected."

"For the most part?"

"Well there are always some few individuals who are less trustworthy than others after all."

"Oh, I guess." Louise said as she glanced around, seeing even more people with even more styles of weapons. "Um, what kinds of weapons are there?"

Vert turned to a door and slid her own Guild car into a slot beside it, causing the door to open soundlessly. "Shall we find out?"

Stepping into the room Louise found it interesting, reminiscent of an archery range and training room in one. The room was long with one side of its length being a filled with targets at various distances. To the one side there were other wooden dummies, clearly for testing melee weapons. And then there was the back wall by the door. Dozens upon dozens of weapon sat against it, magnetically held to holders, couplings and hooks. swords, spears, lances, axe's, whips and Qatar's sat right beside handguns, rifles, cannons, staves and even wands. Every form of weapon imaginable sat on the wall, simple in their looks and design, but clearly still capable of doing the job they were meant for.

Louise walked up to the wall of weapons and just stared at them for a few moments. There were so many to choose from, what would she pick?!

"Going to go with a staff and cast magic maybe?" Vert asked as she stood casually beside the door and a large computer terminal.

"N-no, I . . . I wouldn't be any good with it. And I don't think I could take failing to cast magic again." Louise said solemnly as she looked at the weapons. When her old mother and father tried to teach her weapon skills it had mainly been the sword, and she hadn't been too good with it. Eleonore had insisted she try to learn how to use a staff as a weapon, in case she began using once she learned magic, and she had been decent with it, but not great. "Is there any way to tell what might be a good one to use?"

Vert hummed for a second. "Most people find their best weapon naturally, either by picking it at first, or finding it just feels right in their hands."

Louise looked back at the weapon racks from Vert, and began scanning them with her eyes, looking for something that would catch her interest. She picked up a sword and gave it a few swings, finding it felt too light, too reminiscent of her past. She picked up a handgun, finding it heavy and intriguing, but it also felt strange, like it was not for her. Then she found the staffs, gleaming white silver, bronze and gold, tipped with crystals, shaped metal and even bramble and vines. She shook her head; magic was not for her, not after everything that had happened to her.

That was when she saw something different. Among the spears, and lances, there was one that was different. It was a short spear, barely the same height as she was, but unlike lances or spears that had one head on the end, this one had two identical heads, one on each end. The heads themselves were not overly wide, large or long, and neither did they look ornate or glorified. But they looked sharp, and its design caught her eye, a shaft of white, with blades on ach end the color of old green bronze. Giving In to her curiosity she plucked it from its holder and gripped it with both hands. It had weight to it, but did not feel overly heavy. Giving it a few experimental swings, she found it moved easily, and then she decided to try something more challenging. when practicing in the past with a staff, she had never been able to twirl it in one hand, or around herself like some nobles did to cast spells while protecting themselves, this spear though was shorter and better weighted, so she tried to twirl it around. Once, twice, three times she twirled in one hand, and then she switched hands, spun it more, and even twirled it around her own body twice without difficulty. It felt like the double ended spear was an extension of her own will!

"I'm surprised you grabbed a short spear, and one with two ends at that!" Vert said with a light muffled giggle. "Does it feel good?"

Louise nodded." Yes, it feels really easy to move around. And I haven't hit myself with either blade regardless of how I move it!"

"That's good. Most people are naturally proficient enough with their natural weapon that they won't hurt themselves with it." Vert said as she walked over and took a longer spear off the wall before walking a few feet away and turning to Louise. "Would you like to try a quick spar? Don't worry, I'll go easy."

Louise nodded, and in a matter of second the cracking of weapons smacking against each other echoed through the room.

Vert had always used a long spear. It gave a range advantage against other melee attacks, and she could seamlessly switch between thrusts and sweeping strikes. It was a style that suited her well, elegant, yet deadly.

It appeared however, that Louise had decent starting skill as well. Her short spear was, as its name suggested, shorter than Verts, but it having two blades, one on each end, meant that backswings would also be dangerous and had to be blocked or dodged. Similarly, Louise's smaller size coupled with the spears length meant she could move faster and more nimbly.

Vert was going easy on her admittedly, but she could see skill blooming in her sister faster than she expected. And the fact she ended up being skilled with a weapon very similar to her own made her exceedingly happy.

"So, think you're ready to try fighting an actual monster?" Vert asked suddenly as she dropped out of her stand and walked back over to the weapon rack, placing the practice blade back on its holder.

"Um, I – I guess." Louise sputtered, not sure if she really was. Wouldn't monster be terrifying when they were, well, monsters?

"Okay, then let's put that back and buy you one to keep, then we'll get a quest for you!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The lands outside of the city were utterly beautiful. Rolling hills of green with patches of forests, seemingly untouched, yet pathways weaved in and out from between hills, and even in the area with no pathway, tall lampposts sat waiting to illuminate the fields in the darkness. Patches of flowers sat at random in clearings, beside trees and around lampposts, and a gently cooling yet sweet wind breezed would have been breathtaking!

If not for the monsters that were all over, Literally all over and everywhere in sight!

Louise new they were monsters instantly, because they honestly could not be anything else. Little walking flowers that ran around at random. Blue blobs of jelly with almost cute doglike features on them that bounced around while cooing, and even the occasional other monster, though those ones she only caught glimpses of, and got the feeling they were more dangerous.

The quest she had gotten was to slay twenty Dogoo's and ten Tulips. The numbers seemed worrisome at first, but as she swung her spear through a doggo and blew it apart into little data blocks that disappeared into the air, she realized these must be the literal weakest monsters in all of existence!

With a muted grunt Louise pulled her spear out of a Dogoo, swung herself around and with the spears movement slices two more, putting her count of them up to twenty. Now all she had left were the Tulips. Louise had never considered herself someone who cared for gardening, as much as Cattleya had tried to coax her into it, but if gardening meant chopping up monster flowers with a penchant for head-butting people, it seemed like she could get used to it! And with one last swing of her spear cut the last tulip into ribbons that quickly dissipated.

"That was well done!" Vert said with a quick clap of her hands to get Louise's attention. "Dogoo's and Tulips are some of the weakest monsters, but most people only fight a couple a days when starting out. To kill thirty in all in one go is impressive!"

Louise looked to her sister and gave smile and a nod. She could tell she was right, she had killed a lot of them and she felt stronger for it. "I think I gained a couple levels even." Louse then said, before realizing that it sounded strange but oddly normal as well. Curse this two world's worth of information crammed in her head! what were levels even supposed to mean!?

"That's even better!" Vert said with a smile a she swung her leg back; kicking a Dogoo that had tried to come up behind her, and sending it right into a tree were it went splat all over it. "We could probably figure out what skills you have then!"

"I um, I guess," Louise said uncertainly. She knew she had one skill already that she was reborn with, but she wasn't sure she wanted to use it. Especially with its name being what it was.

Explosive strike.

"We'll have to find something to use your skill against though." Vert muttered as she glanced around, spotting a pile of Dogoo's gathering together and – "Oh my, look over there."

Turning just in time, Louise witnessed a dozen Dogoo's merge together, forming one massive Dogoo the size of a small building! "Wh-What?!" Louise exclaimed in surprise, the Dogoo, turning toward them from her scream.

"Ah, it heard you!" Vert said in mock surprise as the Dogoo began ominously hopping toward them, each hop causing the ground to shake in tandem with a muffled crunching sound.

"Um, isn't something that big pretty dangerous? Should we um, go elsewhere?" Louise asked nervously.

"Others would yes, but such a large Dogoo can be awfully dangerous. We should deal with it so it will not hurt anyone." Vert replied as her own spear, a massive and beautifully ornate spear with a very large head, appeared in her hands. "We'll take it together, yes?"

Louise looked at Vert and nodded. "Alright, I- I can do this." She said, hoping that saying it would help believe it.

"Excellent!" Vert exclaimed as she began walking toward the Giant Dogoo. "Against larger monsters and boss monsters, it is often a good idea to use skills, either to buff yourself and allies, or to deal more significant damage and inflict status debuffs to them. As an example, Sylhet Spear!" Vert called out as she swung her spear about a bit, a massive circle that reminded Louise of a magic circle appearing in the air behind her. Then much to her surprise, a massive Column of root shaped stone burst out of the circle, the tip capped with a sharpened point seemingly of bronze. The stone spear surged forward and pierced the Doggo, going right through it and making it squeal in pain, before the spear itself broke into pieces of stone that littered the ground, slowly beginning to disappear a moment later.

"That, what was that?!" Louise exclaimed in surprise, looking and seeing how upset and wounded the giant Dogoo now was.

"Sylhet spear, one of my Combat skills. It is quiet powerful if I do say so myself!" Vert said proudly as eh looked at the Dogoo and then to Louise. "It should now be sufficiently weak that your skill should be able to destroy it. Of course, that is if your first skill is like my Sylhet spear, a combat type skill."

Louise nodded as she began walking toward the Dogoo. "It is." She said as she began sprinting toward it, her spear held in one hand to her side. she needed to use it, even if she didn't like the sound of it, even if the very name reminded her to much of her past life, she needed to prove that she could do it. She needed to prove it to her sister! "Explosive strike!" Louise yelled as she leapt over the Dogoo, her spear glowing vibrantly, and swung the blade into the top of the Dogoo before landing behind it. Glancing back at it she grinned. "Begone!" and an explosion erupted from within the Dogoo, blowing the last of its health apart, and sending its data back into the air.

"That looks pretty powerful." Vert said as she walked over with a smile. "The first hit only damages one, but I'm willing to bet with groups of enemies the explosion will hurt multiple enemies. It's a good skill!"

"I- I guess, but, I'm not sure if I like it or not." Louise said as she looked to Vert, then down at the ground. "It reminds me of . . . my past failings."

"Well don't do that then." Vert said as she walked over and gave Louise a hug. "You won't be a failure here, not as a CPU Candidate, and not as my Sister! I promise you that!"

"Thank you I appreciate that, a lot." Louise responded, meaning every word of it as she returned the hug, meaning it too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note: So, slightly sort chapter, but it's all in preparation or the main stuff. Plus, new friend, so that always good.**

 **Hope you like it?**

"Lady Vert wished to speak to you."

"Oh thank . . . . You?" Louise replied, her tone quickly becoming confused when she found Chika nowhere to be found, and the door where she wold have been wide open. It was beginning to be become a normal thing, and it confused her greatly.

Since she and Vert had gotten back from her first monster fight three days ago, Chika had been acting odd. It was not like she was ignoring speaking to her, and she was never rude, but it felt like she was trying to ignore her presence, or like she was holding a grudge for something.

Which would have been difficult considering Louise had done nothing to warrant any grudges as far as she was aware. She had after all taken to spending every waking moment when not eating or being dragged around by Vert in the Basilicom's library, reading and researching the world as much as she could to make better sense of the knowledge in her head. Knowledge that seemed to increase in quantity overnight, much to her annoyance!

"I should go see what she needs." Louise says with a smile as she slipped a bookmark into the book and closed it, moving it away from the edge as she got up from the table. While she had only gotten slightly taller in this new life, she quiet enjoyed the shape of her new body and felt it was something to at least be inwardly proud about. As such she had taken to continue wearing skirts and shirts that were somewhat tight, but not overly so. She like her new body, but she wasn't about to wear clothing like Chika's or her sisters just yet, she just didn't think she had the body for it, and the attention and stares she would undoubtedly get would make her far from comfortable. Brushing off her skirt she strode out of the Library and headed down the halls for The Basilicoms office, where Vert would be, dealing with Paperwork.

She had quickly gotten used to knowing where everything was In the Basilicom, she had even gotten used to knowing what some random information was at a glance, though that could have been in part to her research. Either way, after a few moments she came to the office door, knocked twice and opened the door slowly, stepping inside.

The room was a simple one with green carpeting, and bookshelves covering each of the side walls. A large window sat at the back of the rom behind a desk, covered in piles of paperwork and two computer monitors, and behind it all sat Vert, looking exceedingly tired.

"You called?" Louise asked after a moment of watching Vert lifelessly move paper from one pile to another.

As soon as Louise spoke though, life flooded into Vert's face, and her eyes shone brilliantly as she stood up with a smile on her face. "OH you're here! Oh good, I can finally get away. . I mean. . Ahem." She stopped as she walked around the desk and compose herself. "How have you settled in?"

"I, think I'm getting used to things." Louise answered, knowing what Vert was referring to. "Using the library has helped a lot, I'm not getting headaches, or feeling confused from knowing things now."

"That is definitely a good thing. Do you believe you're ready to go back outside again?"

"I, think I am. Why? is there something you missed showing off?" Louise said with a smile, teasing her sister slightly. It felt good too, in her old life she tried anything like that she'd get berated and yelled at to go study more, but Vert either just ignored it with a smile or laughed it off.

"There is actually." Very said with a smile. "There's a concert happening this afternoon, and I was wondering if you wanted to go?"

"That sounds interest-"

"I may have also pulled some string so that I'll be officially announcing your existence at the concert as well." Vert then added, keeping her gaze to the side.

Louise looked at Vert in surprise, not fully sure how to react. No one hand she had never been good with crowds, especially those whose attention was undivided and on her. But on the other hand that was her old life, and she was now essentially a living goddess among the people, something for them to believe in. if she was unknown by the public, Leabox's shares could have trouble, as could her own powers and Verts. The people's belief was supposed to be directly proportionate to a CPU's power, and while as a CPU candidate it did not affect her as much, she could tell that it still did to an extent as in the last few days she had felt herself get ever so slightly stronger, when not really doing anything that would do so.

"Well, my existence will have to be announced at some point, right?" Louise finally said with a shrug, deciding that if it had to be done, that she would do it to the best of her abilities!

"Excellent!" Vert said with a clap of her hands before taking out a small green wallet. Unfortunately I still have some more paperwork to sift through, so would you be fine with going to the concert yourself? I'll head over as soon as I am done this mountain of work. Okay?"

"Are you sure?" Louise asked as she took the wallet from Vert and slipped it one of her vest pockets. " I can wait for you if you'd like?"

"No, I'm just happy you're willing to wait for me. But no, I don't want to take way from your enjoyment. There's some change in there for food if you get hungry, so please just enjoy yourself. I'll be there before the end of the concert where my announcement will be. So go have some fun, okay?"

Louise looked at Vert for a second and nodded before rushing out with a quick, "See you later!" The possibility of seeing the city at her own pace was too good to pass up after all!

Going out into the city on her own turned out to be extremely liberating. She could look at what she wanted, take time admiring the sights for as long as she wanted and even could stare at all the different kinds of food, becoming annoyed that it made her hungry instantly. Why did she have such a big appetite here?!

Calming herself down after grabbing a bag of fresh baked pretzels Louise headed for the concert hall. On the outside it was large, but inside, it was even more massive. A large stage sat at the bottom, with a half circle of seating going up from it. Hundreds if not thousands of people were already gathering in the stands, yet it was still at least half an hour from the start time, and many seats were still unfilled. After finding her own seat Louise placed her food on the seat to hold it and went down to find the washrooms. Only to find a peculiar scene before her.

at the end of the hall by the washrooms was a pair of men, wearing shorts and vests, standing over a woman who was wearing a jacket that looked far too heavy for the weather, that went down to just past her knee's. From the way she was landing back she clearly did not like the men, and a Louise got closer it became clear as to why.

"Hey there, just come with us okay?"

"Yeah, we'll show you a great time! you won't want to forget it!"

"We promise!"

"So just stop being stubborn and come have some fun with us yeah?"

"N-no, I have to be somewhere, please I just-" the girl weakly responded, clearly not wanting to be there.

"Really?" Louise aske herself as she stormed forward, thinking up a plan, and hoping it would work. "Oh here you are!" Louise called out loudly, getting both the two men's, and the girls attention just before she pushed between the men and grabbed the girls hand. "I thought you said you'd be right back? Let's get back to our seats okay?"

"R-right." The girl replied weakly, understanding what Louise was doing as she dragged her back between the two men, who looked very bewildered.

Unfortunately they recovered from their surprise annoyingly quickly. "Hey what do you think you're doing?" one called out as she began following with his friend in tow.

"Yeah, you can't just interrupt us like that!"

Louise stopped as she realised that they were not going to make this simple, and turned to the two men. "Look my friend and I need to get to the concert, so please don't get in our way!"

"Your friend eh? what's her name then?"

"Catherine." Louise replied instantly.

"No it isn't!" one man yelled back as the other just stared at Louise.

"Then what is her name if you think you know so much?" Louise snapped back.

"Err, that is . . . um." the one man grumbled, not knowing how to answer.

"Let's not worry about what our names are!" The other man suddenly exclaimed as he eyed Louise and smiled. "You look pretty nice too, very pretty, so let all four of us go have some fun, what do you say?"

Louise was nearly growling while the other girl slipped behind her, clearly not liking the idea at all. "What was the rule again?" Louise muttered under her breath.

"Pardon, what did you say?" the one man asked as he stepped closer.

"Ah, right. No violence unless it's against, Monsters, bad guys . . . or scum!" Louise yelled as she kicked out her leg, right between the men's own. She swore she heard a crack on contact, and after making the most hilarious face in existence, her grabbed his crotch and went down instantly, gurgling something under his breath.

"Why you little-" The other man called as he stepped forward and raised a fist to swing down at Louise, until there was suddenly the tip of a spear pointed at his face, a bare inch away from it.

"It feels like it's been ages since I felt this angry, and I always used to just let it simmer out, but you've put me in a bad mood, so I'll say this only once." Louise said calmly, before her voice turned to a full hiss of disgust filled hatred and anger. "Take your friend and get out of my sight before I castrate both of you!"

The man instantly looked afraid and nodded, stepping back and grabbing his friend by the leg, only to pull him away, his friends head catching on at least one door frame before they disappeared.

"Haa, that could have gone better, sorry about that. It was the only way I could think of helping." Louise said to the girl, doing her best to look apologetic.

"N-no, that's fine. I should be thanking you. Those two were a little too pushy." The girl said as the hood on her jacket slipped off, allowing Louise to see her face. She had gorgeously long and silky blue hair and bright purple eyes with a freckle beneath her left eye, and while Louise could not see anything else of her body due to the coat, she had a feeling she had a shapely body as well.

 **Everyone has a nice body here.** came a condescending voice in the back of Louise's head.

"Yes, they were." Louise said with a sigh as she ignored the voice, still not sure if it was her own thoughts or something else entirely. "Are you here for the concert?"

"Um, oh, y-yes. I guess. You are too as well?" the girl asked.

"Yes, my sister is coming a bit later; it should start soon though right?"

The girl pulled up her wrist and looked at a watch upon it, her eyes going wide. "Oh no, I'm late I need to, to meet my friend, sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Louise said with a smile as the girl ran off before she had even finished. "Oh, I should have asked her name." Louise mumbled as she went to do her original business, and then headed back to her seat. Halfway there she began to hear cheering, and when she entered back into the hall she saw why.

The stands where now jam packed with hundreds of people, many holding glow sticks in their hands as the stage blow was lighting up with floodlight, tight beams and colorful effects. Then as Louise, with some substantial amount of struggling, made it back to her own seat, the crowd roared louder as the Idol came out onto the stage.

She was wearing boots, a skirt and a simple bikini style top, all dark black with purple accenting, showing off a substantial amount of skin as she walked on stage. A musical note was tattooed on one side of her stomach. Her long blue hair was enhanced by a pair of headphones over her head and ears, and there were numerous small, but similarly colored accessories like bracelets on her wrists and ankles.

Then it struck Louise. She was the same girl she had helped just a bare couple minutes ago!

 **So much for meeting with friends!**

"Hey everybody, 5pb here, how're you all doing today!" 5pb called out in greeting to the audience.

The entire audience responded with a roared that made the entire stadium shake. Everyone was excited and fervently full of energy that Louise had never before witnessed.

"That's great everyone! Before we start everything up though I'd like to give thanks to a girl I just met who helped me out earlier, I don't know her name, but thanks a bunch, and of course thank you to all of you here today for coming down to hear me sing! Now let's begin!"

Louise watched in amazement as 5pb sang and moved across the stage, never fully dancing as she knew it, but still moving in ways that attracted attention none the less. Her voice was smooth and soft, strong and powerful, and made a warm feeling fill Louise's body. she had no idea music could be so amazing, the music in Halkeginia was all orchestral ensembles that were basically the same wherever you went, nothing like this where one single person could entertain so many hundreds at once!

Song after son 5pb sang nonstop, only stopping to call out to the audience for requests and thanks, and one time for a bottle of water, which she drank the entirety of one that was thrown to her from the crowd. Despite her thin looks she seemed able to sing nonstop, and the audience enjoyed every second of it!

"You look to be enjoying yourself quit a lot."

Louise looked over to see Vert sitting down beside her, a smile on her face.

"When did you-?"

"Just now actually, I finally finished all that paperwork." Vert explained as she looked down and watched 5pb for a few moments. "She's Leanbox's number one Idol, what do you think?"

"She's amazing! Her voice is so strong, and her songs are wonderful. She's so different from earlier too."

 **Meek and nervous. sounds familiar in a way.**

"Oh, you met her already hmm?" Vert said with a smile as the current song began to wind down. "I believe that was the last song, lets head down to the stage." She said as she got up, motioning for Louise to follow.

"Ah, wait, I'm going with?"

"Of course, you have to introduce yourself!" Vert said with a smile.

"Oh, I should have seen this coming." Louise grimaced as she followed Vert to the side of the stands and then down to a dark area by the stages one side, just as the last song finished to a roar of clapping, cheering and shouts from the audience.

"Thank you everyone, did you have a god time today?" 5pb asked out to the audience, getting an energetic roar in reply." That's great! That was the last song for this concert today, but we're not quiet done yet! We've got an important guest with a special announcement for everyone!"

In that moment Vert walked onto the stage as elegantly and graceful as ever, the noise from the audience quieted down to a dull murmur as everyone wondered what the CPU could be present to say as she gratefully took a microphone from 5pb with a nod of thanks.

"Thank you everyone for coming here today to enjoy 5pb's wonderful concert. Her skills and love of song is a gift to all of Leanbox!" Vert began, making 5pb visibly blush at the side. "Speaking of gifts however, you all have managed to give a most wonderful gift, and I one to you as well! "Vert continued as she gestured to Louise with a wink. Taking a deep breath Louise nervously walked onto the stage as Vert finished, "Because I now have a Sister, and Leanbox a CPU Candidate!"

Roaring cheers echoed out in response, the audience above excited and glorified by the news. It was amazing and strange, being so well received by people just from the sight of her. But Louise's real surprise came when Vert handed her the microphone, clearly saying, introduce yourself.

 **She did say I had to.**

Takin the microphone with a gulp Louise too a step forward, and the entire audience in front of her calmed down to nothing, waiting to hear their candidates voice. All eyes were on her, and it felt like her throat was freezing on the inside, until 5pb stepped up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

Louise nodded in understand and took a deep breath, and then spoke to the masses for the first time. "Greetings everyone, I am Verts younger sister and the new CPU candidate for Leanbox. I am CPU Candidate Louise, and it is a pleasure to meet you all!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors note: OH MY GODDESSES! This chapter drove me insane. I rewrote the first part almost four times trying to make it feel right! Thank the goddesses it's done now, and for the fact that we're just about out of the preparatory stuff and shall be now getting into actual game plot now. so yeah, sorry for the wait, and enjoy the tears!**

 **edit: fixed one wrong instance of a name mentioning.**

With Louise's introduction as Leanbox's CPU candidate, she found that surprisingly little had changed. People would greet her in the streets and were pleasant, but they had been before. Occasionally a store owner or food seller would give her a deal or small samples of free food, but for the most part, surprisingly little changed.

She became fast friends with 5pb, the two of them getting along well both with their slight social anxieties, and the fact that they both had sort of tricked the other in their initial meeting. With time studying, hanging with 5pb and her sister, Louise felt like everything in life was great! There was of course one singular problem that kept making itself more and more apparent however.

"I'm heading out to hunt with 5pb!"

"Hmm," Chika replied, not even looking in Louise's direction as she walked down the hallway, having come out of a side room of the foyer.

 **She really does hate me, doesn't she?**

Louise shook the thought/voice out of her mind as she sighed and looked back to 5pb, who was waiting patiently. "Sorry, we can go now."

"Alright, um, is Miss Chika normally like that?" 5pb asked nervously. "I've only met her once or twice, but she always seemed far more . . . . Excitable."

"Yeah, she' been like that for a while now. I think it started just before we met, so about two weeks now."

"Is she sick maybe?" 5pb asked as the two of them left the Basilicom.

"Maybe. The odd thing is that she only acts like that when I'm around and Vert isn't. If Verts around she's all happy and everything." Louise explained with a sigh. "Maybe I angered her or something?"

"Well, have you asked her what is wrong?"

"I've tried; she just ignores me and walks off." Louise admitted with another sigh.

 **She hates us!**

"Oh, that's pretty rude huh? What are we hunting today?" 5pb asked with a smile, having become a little more capable than she thought she could while fighting alongside Louise.

"Well, I took a couple quests yesterday but wasn't able to finish one of them. A strong monster hunt, called a Fenrir."

"Oh, I've heard they can be really strong, are you sure we can take it one on?" 5pb asked with a worried tone.

"Well, we can always run if it gets to dangerous, right?"

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5pb huffed as she leapt to dodge a blow from the fenrir's claws. Her lungs had never ached so much in her life, not even after hours of singing, and it wasn't just from the Fenrir! "Move Louise!" She yelled as she tackled Louise to the ground, allowing an attack to narrowly miss her.

Yes. They had found the Fenrir, but in that exact moment Louise had frozen up like she was paralyzed. 5pb had tried everything to get her out of it, but nothing had worked, and she had been forced to try to lure the fenrir away. Now though, on top of Louise on the grass, she could see that Louise was shivering ever so slightly, and her pupils were tiny with fright.

*Growl!*

5pb looked up to see the fenrir standing over them, its claw raised into the air, ready to drop it down upon them.

Only for a woman with red twin tails to leap into view, striking the Fenrir in the head with a large pair of Scissors, sending it reeling backwards.

"Cave!" 5pb exclaimed in happiness a cave landed beside her.

"5pb, what are you doing fighting a Fenrir of all monsters?" Cave asked as the fenrir glared at her, and she glared back.

"Louise had a quest for it and I was going to help, but as soon as she saw it she froze up and hasn't been responding at all!" 5pb explained as quickly as she could.

Cave nodded and swung the scissors at the Fenrir, sending a barrage of attacks and destroying it in a flash. "There, now we need to see how our candidate is doing, yes?"

"R-right." 5pb agreed as she rolled off Louise and knelt there. "Louise, it's gone, can you hear me?"

"No, not the wolves, no, no!"

"Pardon, I can't hear you." 5pb said as she heard Louise say something so quietly a mouse would be louder.

"No, no not the wolves!" Louise suddenly broke into sobs as her entire body shivered and she curled up into a ball, holding her legs with her arms as she shivered and cried. "The teeth, their claws I, no not the teeth get them away from me, it hurts! . . It hurts."

"What is she going on about, she appears uninjured." Cave said as she looked her over.

"Oh, wolves. I guess wolves must be similar to a fenrir."

"What?"

"Oh sorry. Louise, she told me something a while back that. . . um, let's just say he has a severe fear of wolves, and whatever those are must be similar to a Fenrir."

"That must be a very debilitating fear then for her to react as such."

"Yeah, it would be." 5pb said as she remembered Louise telling her about her past life, and how it ended.

"I see. Should we bring her back to the Basilicom then?"

"That might be-" 5pb began, stopping when Louise spoke up.

"I'm. . . I'm sorry! I just, it looked like a giant wolf! I just, it all came back to me! The teeth and the pain and, I are so sorry!" She cried as she laid on the ground, letting go of her legs and grabbing 5pb by the waist, crying against her stomach as she continued to mutter apologies.

"Um, it's okay, I understand." 5pb said as she gently out a hand on Louise head as she cried.

Cave smiled and began walking away with a wave of her hand. "I think you'll be fine now. I'll greet our cute little candidate at a later time, for both of our sakes."

"Alright, thank you cave."

"Don't mention it."

For almost an hour 5pb sat there with Louise on the grass before he, head on her lap as she sobbed. By the end of the hour though, there no crying, but neither had either of them said anything to the other. as a large cloud passed overhead though, Louise spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I let all that training and fighting go to my head, then as soon as I see something that reminded me of . . . . . . . . . I just froze up. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I understand. Most people don't have vivid memories of death, so I can't imagine what it is like. You don't need to apologize." 5pb said with a smile, happy that both of them were fine, and that Louise trusted her so much to confide such things like her past and her feeling to her.

"But, you could have been hurt!" Louise said as she held onto 5pb tighter with her arms, the idea of losing someone close to her seeming unbearable.

"We're both fine though, so it's alright. Don't worry about it.

 **I'm too weak. She could've been killed because of my weakness!**

Louise tensed and let go of 5pb, slowly pushing herself onto the grass and sitting up. "I . . . I guess I'm actually pretty weak huh, freezing up against a monster that that woman took out in one hit."

"No, Cave is really super strong. Like, she's strong even when compared to your sister! Its why she's part of Leanbox's Special mission department I guess."

 **A human strong enough to kill a monster that a young goddess freezes upon seeing. Am I even worthy of being a CPU like this?**

"That, still. . . . My sister would've taken it out just as fast, but here I am, recovering from flashbacks and tears like some weak . . . some worthless . . . . . some ZERO!" Louise said, her voice trembling at the word, remembering its meaning, and how true it was at the moment.

" What, no you're not worthless!" 5pb exclaimed in surprise, leaning forward and grabbing Louise's shoulders. "You just haven't gotten as strong as your sister yet! Even CPU's can grow in strength over time! You'll get stronger as well!"

"But what if I don't? What if I take so long that, that you, everyone, that leanbox becomes endangered because I'm not strong enough to protect it!? I'm supposed to be the CPU Candidate; I'm supposed to protect everyone! If I can't even fight a simple fear, how am I supposed to do that!?"

 **I'll just drag everyone else down with me if I'm not strong enough.**

"Well, everyone just fights monsters to get stronger right? And CPU's have Hard Drive Divinity to fall back on right?"

"I- I've never used it. Do Candidates even have it?" Louise asked, suddenly very interested as she had seen her sisters HDD form, the massive power spike, and resulting outfit, it provided. The idea of a power spike that great was extremely interesting, and if her outfit change into something that suited her, it couldn't be bad either, right?

"Um, I think so, but I'm not sure." 5pb admitted. "I now that HDD is related to shares though, so maybe once you get stronger you can use it? I'd ask your sister, she'd know, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Louise said with a sniff, just as she let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry for being so weak. I'm a terrible CPU candidate right now."

"No you're not! You're doing your best and have only been around for a couple of weeks, no one can, or would, fault you for not being equal to your sister!"

"She runs the whole country though." Louise said seriously. "She keeps Leanbox safe, runs the country, and is strong and beautiful. Meanwhile I have trouble fighting monsters, do nothing to help the country, and barely have a quarter of her looks."

 **And barely a quarter of her chest.**

"Now you're just sulking." 5pb said with a smile as she stood up and brushed her skirt off before holding out a hand for Louise. "Shall we head back?"

Louise nodded as she took 5pb's hand, letting her help her up. "Sorry, again."

"Stop apologizing." 5pb said with a giggle as the two of them began walking back. "Why not ask you sister if she can help train you, of if there's anything you can do to help her if you're so worried?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Louse said with a smile, imagining training with Vert again. "I'll do that when I get back!"

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"I'm back!" Louise called as she walked into the foyer of the Basilicoms living area, having Parted ways with 5pb halfway through the city.

Waiting a second and having no reply Louise walked in and headed for Vert's office, expecting her to be there if she was doing any work. And even if she wasn't, her room was just a couple doors down from it, so she'd be easy to find even if she wasn't working.

 **Which is more likely. she probably on four goddesses online.**

Though if she was gaming it'd be even more difficult to get her attention.

"Maybe I should try some games myself, she has so many there has to be at least a genre or two I'd like, right?" Louise mumbled to herself as she realized that all her free time since being reborn had been spent fighting monsters, researching or hanging with 5pb. Maybe she needed another hobby?

Getting to Vert's office she found the door closed and could hear both Vert and Chika's voices from within. But the thickness of the door made it impossible to tell if they were just having a conversation, or talking about a serious matter. Unsure which Louise sighed and rapped on the door fur times before she opened it. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt Sis," Louise said as she peeked in, finding Chika standing beside Verts desk, while Vert was sitting at it with a small stack of papers beside it.

"Oh not at all Louise come in!" Vert replied happily with a wave of her hand. "Is something the matter, you look a little . . . . . what happened?"

"Well a lot happened." Louise admitted as she walked in and closed the door behind her, then noticing that Chika seemed to be staring at her.

 **Not staring, glaring. She hates us and hates my very presence!**

"Judging from your expression I'm guessing it's not good huh? Do you want to talk about it?" Vert asked warmly, Chika looking away from Louise as soon as Vert spoke.

"Um, maybe later, but there is one thing I want to ask, well two things I guess." Louise admitted as she walked to the centre of the room.

"Oh, and what does my adorable little sister want to know?" Vert asked with a smile. While Chika seemed to scowl at Verts words a bit.

 **Loathes us.**

Louise shook her head slightly. "I'm wondering how to use Hard Drive Divinity, is there a trick to it?"

"Oh my, what brought this up? It's a rather big matter after all!" Vert said as she stood up, making something else that was big move around a bit, and making Louise a tad jealous for a couple seconds.

"Well, the thing about earlier, I kind of ended up fighting a monster that, I had a lot of trouble against, to put it simply." Louise said, finding it difficult to tell Vert that she had broken down so completely without her. She had crawled into bed with her a couple times in the first week when nightmares about her death seemed to haunt her endlessly, but they had stopped happening of late, much to her relief. they'd probably come back for a bit after seeing that massive fenrir though. Ugh.

"Ah, well HDD is not something that's easy to do initially. Some of the other CPU's have said their sisters are having some moderate trouble with it too, so we'd need to do some training to see if you're having trouble." Vert said with a calm smile. "We can find out when I get back, so what's the other thing you wanted to ask?"

"Well . . . I was wondering if I could help with your work. The paperwork, plans or anything really. I want to help!"

Vert beamed instantly at Louise's words, but while she was beaming, Chika scowled and was the first to speak up. "No, you'll just get in Lady Verts way."

"Now Chika, that's not true!" Vert quickly said, still beaming. "If I'll going to be leaving soon its great she wants to help out, it will help you when I'm gone too!"

Chika tensed for a second before nodding. "Very well, then I shall take my leave." she said, glaring at Louise as she passed her.

 **She hates us! Hates my very presence!**

'No, she just, has a lot on her mind, I think'

 **She despises me! Glares at me every chance she gets, ignores us. She hates me!**

'No! She's, she's like a-'

 **HATES ME!**

"Chika why are you-" Vert began, stopping when Louise suddenly spoke up without turning to Chika.

"Why do you hate me?"

The room fell silent instantly as Chika stopped, just shy of the door, her hand already reaching for it. It slowly fell down to her side as she spoke, not turning around either. "What do you mean?" she asked neutrally.

"You hate me, don't you?"

"Of course not. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"YOU DO! You hate me and this proves it!" Louise yelled as she turned round to look at Chika, her face saying she was moments away from breaking down. "You're always so cold lately! You ignore me completely when Vert isn't around, you barely acknowledge me, you glare at me like I'm some kind of poison, and even when Vert is around you barely even look at me!"

"That is. . . I do not-"

"You're not even looking at me now! Am I that much of a failure to you! Do you hate me that much or did I do something to anger so much?!"

"You did not do anything, I just. . . I simply." Chika tried to say, her voice wavering with uncertainty. Finally, she slowly turned around, looking uncertain, worried and like she felt worthless herself, ashamed of something. "It's nothing you did."

"Then why do you hate me?" Louise pressed, the beginnings of tears forming around her eyes as Vert just looked on in surprise, unsure of what to do.

"I don't hate you!" Chika suddenly proclaimed, looking like she was on the verge of tears as well. "I'm just jealous of you, okay!"

"W-what? Why?" Louise asked, not having expected Chika to say as she did.

"Because Very only cares about you now! I was all she had for what felt like ever! I was always there, doing all I could for her, but then you came along. I was happy, Vert finally had the sister she always wanted, but all she talked about was you, she spends all of her free time with you and it feels like I'm being replaced by you!"

"What?" Louise said in surprise, not having expected that reasoning.

"I'm feeling like I'm needed less and less, so I haven't been able to stand being around you, knowing that you'll be the centre of Verts Attention!" Chika exclaimed, now in tears as she turned back to the door. "Maybe I should just go so I won't get in the way."

Louise watched as Chika reached for the door, and spoke before she even realized it. "B-But you're like a Sister to me too!"

". . . why? How can you say that after how I've been treating you!?" Chika demanded as she turned around, tears flying off her face and onto the carpet.

"You've been here just as much has Vert, and you were there when I was . . 'born'. How can I not think of you as an elder sister?" Louise replied, realizing even as she spoke that she was not lying. Chika felt similar to Eleonore, though far less grouchy and angry.

 **Thank goodness for that**.

"Oh dear, this is my fault isn't it?" Vert asked with a knowing sigh, having realized that she had been doting a bit much on Louise, and forgetting temporarily that Chika liked to consider herself a sister already.

"NO!" Both Chika and Louise said at the same moment, turning to look at Vert with very serious expressions.

"It's my fault, I kept putting it off, and I wasn't realizing how Chika felt." Louise said quickly.

"I was letting jealousy get the better of me when I shouldn't have, and you've wanted a true sister for ages, it's not your fault!" Chika said almost at the exact same time.

Both Louise and Chika stopped as they realized they had both spoken at the same time, and both had tried to cover for Vert.

"Um. . . . Truce?" Louise asked as she wiped tears from her face.

"Yes . . . . " Chika said uncertainly as she wiped her own eyes and fidgeted a bit "You, really think of me as an elder sister?"

Louise nodded, and before she could open her mouth Chika lunged across the room and landed right in front of Louise on her knee's hugging her tightly

"I'm sorry, I just. . . I'm sorry!" Chika pleaded, on the verge of tears again, though this time of happiness.

"Um, it's alright?" Louise sad softly, unsure what else to do.

Behind her desk Vert just giggled. "Oh my, you've gone and made Chika a little strange Louise!"

 **She's always been strange!**

Louise just smiled a bit, unsure of what to do.

"Well, I guess I'll go start making some dinner, so all three of us can sit down and eat like a family before I leave!" Vert declared with a smile.

"Wait, leave?" Louise asked in confusion as Chika finally let go of her and pulled away, looking far happier than Louise had seen her in a long while.

"Yes," Vert said with a sigh as she stood up. "The other CPU's and I are going to meet at the Gameindustri Graveyard tomorrow afternoon to look into something that could be dangerous, or simply a problem."

"I . . . . . . neglected to ask." Chika said as she stood up and tried to tidy herself up. "How long do you believe you will be gone?" her more serious attitude was back, but she looked extremely happy, and even content.

"It's hard to say, but it shouldn't be more than a few days if all goes well." Vert replied with a smile.

"Will you be okay?" Louise asked, sounding very worried. She had read up on most places in Gameinsustri, and the graveyard seemed like one of the most morbid and dangerous places.

"I'll be fine!" Vert said as she walked over to the door. "After all, all four of us CPU's will be there together, what's the worst that could happen? Now then, let's all go make dinner together, okay?"

Louise and Chika both looked at each other and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors note: Alright, next chapter here we are! Taking the time skip plan and jumping the two years to the time of Rebirth 2/mk 2, whatever you want to call it. it should be clear with how things read that this is not the Leanbox of the games during this point, and it has a Candidate to protect it!**

 **additionally, I'd like to say that, yes while Louise may seem powerful in this chapter, it will be exclaimed why in a bit, and she'll not be overly exceptionally more powerful than the other CPU's, it just seems that way at this moment.**

 **Tell me what you think, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and Louise's first real full fight scene, as much as I did writing it!**

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"I've got a handful more things that need to be dealt with." Chika said as she walked into the bailicoms office. Normally she'd think of it as Vert' office, but considering that Louise was the one using it, she wasn't sure how to think of it.

Louse was sitting at the desk, three different stacks of paper before her as well as a computer monitor. One hand was using a pen, while another was flitting across the screen of a tablet by the computer monitor. She was wearing her most usual clothing, but her long hair was tied up into a ponytail, keeping it out of her eyes as she worked. As Chika crossed distance from the door to the desk, Louise let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair.

"Please tell me it's not more of the same?"

Chika nodded. "I believe it is." Chika replied as she took the small, barely ten centimetres of paper and placed it atop another pile. " Mercantile requests, requests for operations permits, and about a half dozen law complaints."

"Ugh, are the permit and merchant requests at least real?" Louise groaned in exasperation as she pulled herself forward and pulled a page off the closest pile, looking it over, then scowling as she crumpled it and tossed it over her shoulder onto a small, but growing pile against the window.

"Most of them are yes, but a handful did not track, so they, and the complaints are all likely from ASIC, Masquerading as citizens or businesspeople." Chika admitted with a sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking extremely tired.

"Oh for-"Louise stopped when she noticed how Chika was looking at her. "Sorry. . . . I didn't say it!"

"You were going to." Chika said before smiling and walling around the desk, plucking the tablet off of it and holding it tightly as she began tapping. "I'll handle these while I explain some other events if that is alright. It will be done quicker then."

"Thanks Chika." Louise said as she continued grabbing papers and forms, looking them over, and either approving them or throwing them aside. Any that were obviously from ASIC were tossed into the pile behind her, the pile she intended to use as fireplace kindling. "You said there was something else?" Louise asked as she continued to look through forms, her eyes not lifting up from them.

"Yes. The Special Missions department has reported that they have a lead on another ASIC facility and will keep us posted. 5pb is also preparing for her next concert and has received the usual threats from ASIC. Concert security already captured two of them, but they escaped."

"They seem stupidly good at that!" Louise growled as she tore a form in half and tossed it over her shoulder.

 **Should have just killed them and saved the trouble of capture.**

"They are, unfortunately. Luckily our countermeasures are holding them mostly at bay. since were forcing them to either directly commit crimes or play by our rules, the only thing we have to really worry about is the crimes, as their more legal attempts have not gotten past us."

"Only because we're looking them all over ourselves." Louise said with a sigh as she threw another paper over her shoulder.

"It's a good idea; it allows us to keep track of their movements." Chika said as she smiled. "And if I recall it was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Ugh, me and my big mouth." Louise mumbled as she sunk down in her chair, finally placing a sheet on another pile, finally finding one that wasn't an ASIC attempt.

"I'm not chastising you. It's impressive. You reacted and have slowed ASIC to a crawl here in Leanbox. I'm just surprised that you're so naturally skilled with government issues, strategies and tactics. Vert would be proud!" Chika declared, causing a Silence to fall over the rom as both of them became slightly solemn. "I'm sorry."

Louise shook hr head. "No, its fine. She'll come back, and when she does Leanbox will only have changed for the better." Louise said certainly "I'll make sure of it!"

"We both will. Vert is fine, and we'll be waiting for her."

"Yes we will." Chika said with a smile. "I do wary about her though. Two years is a long time to be gone, and we know something has happened considering ASIC's Rampart takeover attempts."

"Yeah. . . there's no way they beat her though, so they must of found a way to capture and seal her. Those ASIC bastards!"

"Language." Chika said with a sigh, just as her phone began beeping incessantly. " Yes? . . . . . . . . . understood."

"Who was it?" Louise asked as she looked up to see Chika smiling.

"Cave, reporting two interesting pieces of information! The other CPU Candidates got off a boat roughly half an hour ago, here in Leanbox."

". . . why is that important?" Louise asked, honestly not understanding what use it could be.

"Perhaps there here for a reason? Maybe they could help us?"

"I doubt it. ASIC's forces haven't upped their game any. If they had completely taken over one of the other nations we'd have heard, and if ASIC had been fully pushed out their strength here would be increasing. How likely is it that they're here to go after our shares?"

"It's a possibility, but with how things are for dealing with ASIC, I doubt they'd have much luck. You don't want to meet your fellow candidates?" Chika pushed.

"No, there's too much to do. Between keeping ASIC at bay, rooting out their forces and keeping monsters at bay . . . there's just no time, and I can't understand how their nations are not In the same situations unless ASIC is focusing on us."

Chika let out a sigh, having hoped that she'd at least meet them. Unfortunately Louise had a streak of getting dead set on things. "Alright, if they come looking for you however, you should at least speak with them.

". . . If I'm not busy, I guess." Louie said, caving ever so slightly.

"The other piece of information will be more to your liking though. Cave has found the location of an ASIC base their thugs have been working out of. An old factory on the outskirts of the city. It's in an old industrial district that was shut down years ago. there's no one around it, and it had been slated for demolition at one point, only for it to get put aside."

"Are there any ASIC forces?"

"Some basic ground troops, simple thugs and underlings mostly. The special mission department has the entire industrial zone surrounded and are waiting for orders and reinforcements from the guild."

Louise's hands stopped moving, and for a second she was still before she looked up at Chika. "Can I go and deal with those . . . them?"

 **Those conniving, motherless pieces of-**

Chika grinned. "Cave actually wanted you to come if you were able. I think she wants your assistance rooting them out and destroying the building."

"It would help our people's morale as well." Louise said as she got up out of the chair and stretched her arms up high, bending her whole body back as she did. "I'll fly over and come right back when I'm finished with them!"

"Try to hold back a bit with your HDD!" Chika called as Louise dashed around the desk and out the door with a wave. A second later Chika let out a sigh. Louise's HDD was undoubtedly powerful, but . . . .

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"This city is so big, and it's just like planeptune!" Nepgear said aloud as she sat down at a café table with Rom and Ram, waiting for Uni, Compa and IF to come back from their quick errands. IF had gone to the Guild to see if she could find any information on ASIC and Leanbox's situation, While Uni and Compa had gone to the Basilicom to see how things were going, and if they could set up a meeting with Leanbox's elusive CPU candidate.

Nepgear had only heard about Leanbox's candidate once just beofe her sister and her went to the graveyard. Vert had spoken highly of her while they had traveled, but for how much she had said, none of it had seemed very useful.

"It is, really pretty."

"It's okay, I guess."

Rom and Ram said, countering each other's words with small smiles as they sat on the opposite side of the table from Nepgear, looking around with just as much curiosity as Nepgear was.

Planeptune was having some difficulty due to ASIC's spreading of illegal game, cheats and memorabilia, and Lowee and Lastation had similar troubles. People either looked like willing ASIC lackeys, or like they were sad with their lands situations. Similarly, ASIC lackeys had been clear and easy to see in Lowee and Lastation.

Here in Leanbox though it was far stranger because it was actually difficult to see any Sign of ASIC! Sure there were some shady people around, but thy looked like the worried ones! The city still flourished, businesses still operated, and there even ads and posters for upcoming game and software releases. She did notice though that there was a sort of heavy feeling over everything, one that she couldn't just place as to what was causing it.

"Nepgear, Nepgear, are you okay?" Rom suddenly spoke up.

"What, oh, yes I'm fine." Nepgear replied as she smiled at Rom.

"You were all quiet like and, staring at the sky. Where you thinking?"

"well, yes, I was. it's just that Leanbox is so different than I thought it would be. Everything is so advanced and hiny like in planeptune. it's not like Lowee or Lastation are.

"Humph that's for the better then. Lowee's way better than this shiny place!" Ram said with a huff as she grabbed the juice box in front of her and drank from it with a pout.

"But, it's also calm here, right Ram?" Rom asked nervously.

" . . . I, I guess so."

Nepgear smiled at the two sisters little argument, as cute as it was now familiar.

A moment later a waitress came by and delivered their order, a platter of fries, setting it on the table. Nepgear had ordered it for everyone to have something when they got back, and she had been told it was big. But the platter itself took up almost three quarters of the table, and was heaped with a mountain of fries. "Goodness, there's no way I can eat all of this!"

"Then it's good that the Guild was so far sway, and that I'm starving," IF said as she came up to the table and sat down on the left of Rom and Ram.

"So, you got to the guild, miss IF?" Rom asked carefully in her usual soft voice.

"Yep! Was worth the run too. You'd not believe what actually is going on here in Leanbox!

" What's happening ,a party?!" Ram asked, suddenly very interested.

"Not quiet, but almost. I'll tell you all about it once Compa and Uni get here, they shpulve ben back before I was though." If said as she tossed a fry into her mouth.

"We would've been, if the Oracle hadn't kept us waiting!" Uni complained as she and compa came and sat down, Compa patting her back softly going 'there there'.

"Oh, that's surprising, I've heard that Chika is normally quiet efficient at meeting people." IF said as everyone began eating fries in earnest.

"So did you meet the candidate, or setup a meeting?" Nepgear asked immediately, seemingly ignoring If's words.

"No, Chika said she was out and did not know when she would return." Uni said with a huff. "I still can't believe she made us wait, I'm a CPU candidate, like really!"

"That makes sense though from what I heard." IF spoke up, sounding conflicted.

"What do mean Iffy?" Compa asked, being the only one who wasn't stuffing fries into her mouth.

"Well, it seems that ASIC tried to gain a foothold here in Leanbox, but they've been rebuked so strongly they haven't been able to gain an economic foothold of any kind." IF explained.

"What does Rebulked mean?" Rom asked in confusion.

"Rebuked, it means they've been pushed back or stopped. Uni said with an intelligent smile.

"Then just say that. Big words are stupid!" Ram exclaimed with a huff.

"Right, sorry." IF apologized before continuing. "The oracle and Candidate have set up a series of new laws and regulations in Leanbox. Stuff like people cannot sell products without a special, newly distributed permit, and things like selling games you don't own or did not make is punished by a fine and prison time. It's pretty heavy stuff. They've also been doing public information releases explaining the important of buying games, working with developers and not cheating them. They've also made an online Game distribution program that allows people to buy games online, as well as mod them as long as it does not break the games. Their rules and legislation have basically completely blocked ASIC from getting any kind of large Economic Foothold here in Leanbox.

"Wait, doesn't that mean their restricting what their people can do?" Uni asked in shock.

"With some of the law, yes, they are. It makes it harder for some smaller businesses to keep going. But apparently they're offering money back for them though. There's other similar rules too, but the effect of them is clear. ASIC has no Economic hold on Leanbox, and has resorted to more easily visible and clearly evil tactics."

"Like what?" Ram asked suddenly.

"Riots, protests, even terrorist actions including bombings apparently. They're basically clearly the scum of the earth here, and because of it, the public opinion of them is absolutely horrible. The people are scared and the government is basically reigning in what can be done, but with ASIC looking like villains, the people are easily against them. There's a lot of government funded festivals, concerts and other things that are happening as well to keep people happy, to counter ASIC's actions."

"So they're using ASIC to control their populace?" Uni asked in disgust.

"No, not exactly. Their clearly telling people why everything is being down the way it is. Their people for the most part are completely for the laws, as their holding ASIC in check."

"Goodness, does this mean they won't have found the mascot disc then?!" Nepgear asked, thrilled by the idea that Leanbox's mascot could be safe."

"It's possible. I didn't hear anything about a Mascot, so its location could be completely unknown." IF said, suddenly smiling. "I did hear one other thing though. Apparently the Leanbox Special mission department is working on taking out an ASIC base just south of the city."

"The special mission department? what's that?" Compa asked calmly as she passed Rom and Ram another pair of juicebox's.

"It's a special forces group that help deal with monsters her in leanbox. They report directly to the Oracle." IF explained. "But get this, apparently Leanbox's candidate is leading their attack on the ASIC base!

"Goodness, should we go meet her and help then?" Nepgear asked, clearly surprised by the information.

"Heck yes we should! No wonder she was out!" Uni replied as she stood up, her chair skidding backwards and falling over with a clatter.

"Well I'm for that, are you three staying here then?" IF said as she looked at Compa, Rom and Ram.

"Nu uh, we'll come." Rom said quietly, Ram taking a more vocal approach to their reason.

"We'll beat up those ASIC baddies and make this candidate help us too!"

"I'll come too. They might get hurt!" Compa said with a smile.

"Then let's go! Oh but the fries," Nepgear said as she looked down, to find al lof the fries were gone already. "What the goodness?"

"Welcome to Leanbox, their food is big, and it's so good you eat all of it without realizing it." IF snickered. "Carful you don't gain weight off of it."

"Oh crap." Uni muttered as they all got up and left the café as fast as they could. As they ran Uni glanced over to IF. "So, is there anything you found out about LEangbox's candidate? I've never heard anything about them.

"Us neither!" Ram exclaimed. Nepgear merely nodded.

"Nothing exact, no." If said with a sigh. "It's known that she's well loved, both for stepping up and holding ASIC at bay, as well as for going out to deal with them herself when possible. She's supposedly not too great with crowds though, but tries her best, honestly that's all I know. I didn't even hear anything about what she looks like."

"Oh, I guess we'll find out soon enough," Uni said with a grin,I think I can hear noise head of us!"

Coming over a rise in the streets the six of them saw a surprising scene before them. At the edge of the city was an old industrial area with fencing around it, but around that were military forces, cordoning off the area, and the sound and lights of combat could be seen focused around one large warehouse. As they approached the cordon a soldier stepped in front of them, barring passage through the opening.

"Please turn back; this area is cordoned off to deal with ASIC Terrorists." The solder said with a polite smile.

"Um, were candidates from the other nations, we hoped we could help Leanbox's candidate." Nepgear said nervously, the soldiers gaze making her feel like she didn't belong.

The soldier looked them over, his brow rising when he looked at IF. "I recognize you. Your one of Lady Verts favored Guild agents."

"Um, yes, I suppose so. I haven't had much of a chance to travel until recently with ASIC's actions elsewhere."

"understandable. The special missions department is in charge of this operation, so I can't let you in myself, but I'll alert their leader to your presence and see what they say.

"Thank you, we'll wait here." IF replied, as the soldier walked into the cordon, the gate closing behind him.

"Why are we just waiting around when we could just fly over the fence line?" Uni asked with a scowl.

"Because the nice soldier asked us to wait of course!" Compa chirped happily

"Compa's right, the last thing we want to do is anger the locals." IF said as the soldier came back into view, the gate opening and allowing him out.

"Lady Green Sister hasn't arrived yet, so the Special mission department head for this mission is willing to meet with you. Fair warning though, if Lady Green sister arrives while you're with the head, do not try to just go to her. Follow me." The soldier explained with a wave.

As he led them past the fence they could see just how much was being done. Military vehicles and personal ran around in a controlled form of chaos, and it looked like there were burn and claw marks on some vehicles and the roadway and building walls.

"Um, can I ask you a question?" Nepgear suddenly asked as they walked, getting a couple odd looks from some of the soldiers and native guild agents that were running around. She even noticed a few guild agents' wave or nod to IF.

"What is it?" The soldier replied, not looking back as he kept walking.

"Um, we haven't hear a lot about Leanbox's candidate, what I she like?"

The soldier cracked a smile. "That depends. Do you mean regularly, or when she's in HDD?" he said as they approached a red haired woman who looked absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was done into twin tails, and her outfit was both covering and revealing all at once, looking very mature as she held a gigantic pair of scissors over her shoulder. "Lady Cave, there here."

The red headed woman turned and nodded. "Thank you, I'll take it from here." She said, waiting till the soldier walked off. " Cave, Leanbox Special operations department."

" IF, Planeptune Guild agent." If introduced as she gestured to everyone. "This is my friend Compa, and the CPU candidates of Planetune, Lowee and Lastation. Nepgear, Rom, Ram and Uni."

Cave nodded simply, not looking terribly impressed or amused, looking more interested at the task at hand. " A pleasure to meet you. May I know what you are here for?"

"We were hoping to help, and to meet Leanboxs candidate, and to get her help." Nepgear said with a hopeful smile.

Cave nodded in understanding. "I see. She should be arriving soon, but I do not know if she will want to speak to you or not. Green Sisters HDD can be . . . . . difficult to deal with for some people."

"What do you mean?" Uni asked, suddenly more curious than before about Leanbox's candidate.

"She is very-" Cave was stopped as suddenly people around them began pointing up into the sky, and before any of the candidates could look, a person landed on the ground ahead of them with a heavy crack. The person stood up and turned to cave, and immediately they all knew it was Leanbox's CPU Candidate.

She was slightly taller than IF or Compa, with bright green hair down to just past her shoulders. Her outfit was unlike the other candidates though, which surprised them. Her bodysuit was a dark green in color with thin bright green glowing lines across it, but her bodysuit covered her entire body, completely different than everyone else's that had separate leg and arm sections. The only skin on her whole body that was showing was that of her neck and head. Smooth pieces of shaped, dark green armour covered her body in places over her chest, wait, hips, upper legs and shoulders. Metal boots and Greaves, just as smooth and advanced looking as the rest of her armour, covered her lower legs, while her lower arms were covered in Similar looking Vambrace's. Four small Dark silver discs floated begins her, two to each side, with glowing green wings protruding out of them, smaller than other CPU's, but equal due to their number. She looked slightly older than Nepgear or Uni and had a strange cold look to her brilliant green eyes, the HDD symbol within them making them strangely unnerving.

"Cave. I apologize for being late, what is the situation?" Green sister asked her voice cool and cold.

"The ASIC thugs have holed themselves in the warehouse and are using simple weaponry to keep out people away. They've also dropped a handful of Monster discs out the windows as well. None got past out people." Cave reported calmly as she walked up to green sister, seemingly unawed by her sleek armoured form.

"I see. Have any of our people been wounded?"

"Only minor scrapes and cuts from the monsters, nothing major."

"Good." Green sister said as she brought up a hand and a Holographic screen appeared, Just barely visible to Nepgear as a map of the area. "I'll flush those fools out, so make sure we have people stationed here, here, and here please. They seem the most likely places the thugs would flee towards."

"We already have people there ready and waiting." Cave replied calmly. "There is one thing though; The CPU Candidates from Planeptune, Lastation and Lowee are here, to see you apparently."

Green sister turned to follow Cave as she gestured toward Nepgear and Party, and just as Nepgear took a step to introduce herself, Green sister turned away. "Dealing with ASIC is more important that dealing with them. Time to make ASIC regret coming to Leanbox."

"Did she just ignore us?!" Uni asked in shock as Green sister began walking toward the warehouse, and stopped after a few steps before throwing her hand out toward it.

"Explosive Barrage!" She called out, forming a half dozen spheres of energy in the sky before they each flew down into the warehouse's roof. A second later explosion ripped through the warehouse, destroying walls, the roof, and even blowing the doors out.

"Whoa, that was loud." Ram muttered, just as five forms stumbled out of the rmained of the front of the warehouse.

Each was dressed like a Regular ASIC lackey, and each looked beaten and worn, but also angry.

"Dammit, you could have killed us!" One yelled to Green Sister in anger, just as he threw a rock at her with his good arm.

She caught it and tossed it aside. "That would have been the simpler method, yes. I'm surprised your still here honestly. I'll give you one chance to avoid feeling more of my wrath. Surrender unconditionally or I will make you wish you were monster chow." Green sister said in a Cold, Merciless tone that made IF shiver.

"Ha, to hell with that, we know your weakness!" One thug exclaimed as he pulled out a Monster disc and flashed it before throwing it to the ground. The other four did as well, and when all five discs were on the ground, they began to glow, and then discharged their sealed monsters into the world.

A pair of tanks, and a Trio of Fenrir's.

Nepgear noticed Green sister stiffen slightly, but it only lasted a second before the real action started. The tanks acted first, trying, and failing, to fire on Green sister as she rushed one of them. As she neared it, the undersides of her vambraces opened up and each ejected a long deep green spear. She deftly grabbed both and leapt at the tank, swinging both through it without any resistance. It disintegrated immediately, just as the other tank fired and peppered the ground, and Green sister, the shots striking her armour seemingly without effect.

"Concussion!" Green sister called out as she turned to the last tank and smacked her spears together. a sudden shockwave like blast echoed out from her spears in a cone, striking the tank instantly and stunning it. Just the nearest of the three Fenrir rushed her and leapt, claw in the air.

In an almost impossible to notice maneuver Green sister rolled to the side, and threw a sear up into the Fenrir's jaw. Then, as the Fenrirs claws touched the ground and it reared up in pain, she rolled back under it, grabbed the spear and ripped it out, then swung her other into its head, destroying it.

The two remaining Fenrir rushed her, but as they reached her she leapt into the air over them and landed behind the still stunned tank. With both spears she stabbed it, lifted it up into the air, and then swung it around and threat as the Fenrir, just as they turned to her new position. The tank exploded as it struck them, but the flash of its data startled and confused them, allowing her the moment she needed to close the distance between them.

" Void Lance!" She cried as she thrust both spears forward at one Fenrir, and a pair of LBack beams shot out form them into a Fenrir, destroying it.

There was only one Fenrir left now, and it was the largest one. but the situation became wors, when suddenly a black ring surrounded it, and wen within, turning the Fenrir's coat an inky black, its claws a vile red.

"Holy, it just turned Viral!" IF exclaimed in surprise, never having heard of an already powerful monster like a Fenrir going viral.

"We need to help her then!" Nepgear exclaimed, just as the sound of spears striking concrete pulled their attention back to Green sister.

She was spinning both of her spears in her hands, the tips of the blades catching on the ground and creating sparks all around her feet. What was strangest however was that for the entire battle she had a neutral expression on her face, but now she was, ever so slightly, smiling!

The Viral Fenrir ran at her, now twice its previous size and its class shattering the ground beneath it as it moved. And in response, Green sister ran toward it, spears at the ready and constantly moving. The Fenrir's first strike was dodged as Green sister Dashed to the side, hr spears swinging wide and catching the claw that tried to attack her. Before it could react she then jumped over it, lashing out with strikes that cut deep into its fur.

The Fenrir spun around, its tail knocking Green sister backwards against the wall of the warehouse, and as she got up it lunged at her, intent for the kill.

Green sister smiled as she spoke. "EXPLOSION!"

True to her words, a massive explosion ripped away from her, devastating the remains of the warehouse and knocking the Fenrir back, looking very confused as it stared at the flames that had consumed its prey. Only to see Green sister walk out of the flames, completely unscathed.

"Now you die, cur! Explosive Onslaught!" She cried, her spears tips suddenly glowing a deep red.

The two of them rushed each other and the Fenrir struck, only to miss and leave its leg open. A spear lashed and cut through it, and a half second after, and explosion poured out of the wound, staggering the Fenrir.

Then the real punishment began. Never stopping Green sister began dashing around the Fenrir, spears striking out and flashing at its body in an endless melody of pain. And with each slash, stab and strike, and explosion came out of it, further injuring and stunning the Fenrir. The chain of explosion made it impossible to see what was happening, but with so many explosions, it was clear that Green Sister was still striking it. Until finally a howl echoed out, and a final explosion ripped through the smoke, just as a massive showed of data flooded out of the smoke to disappear into the air.

As the smoke and fire began clearing, the warehouse finally falling to the ground with a shower of dust and smoke, Green sister stepped out of it all and walked up to the now frozen with fear thugs. She stood there for a moment, spears in hand as tightly as they had been while in battle, and looked at the thugs, who could not, would not move. She slowly positioned one of her spears in front of them and smiled. "Boom!"

The five thugs all reacted instantly, cringing and even throwing up their arms to protect themselves, two of them even fainting. But nothing happened. No explosion. No shockwave.

"They are done with, take them into custody." Green sister called out as she turned away from them and walked over toward cave, positioning her spears by her wrists, just before they pulled back and disappeared into her vambraces. "Cave, can I ask you to finish this up. There, is something that . . . that I need to deal with.

Cave merely nodded, and before anyone could say a word, Green sister leapt into the sky and flew off at what was likely her full speed.

Nepgear watched as she left, while everyone else began exclaiming about being ignored. She had watched the entire fight, and it was amazing. Green sister, whatever her n on HDD name was, was an extremely powerful fighter, fast and strong. But she noticed that when she had neared the Fenrir's her muscles had tensed, and her eyes had gown strange. She was strong, but something felt wrong.

"I just hope she's alright, and then when we next meet we can become friends." Nepgear mumbled to herself with a smile, knowing they'd meet again soon.

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Chika let out a sigh as she left the Basilicoms office. The paperwork was all done now, for now at least. Still it was one less thing for her or Louise to worry about for the day, and that called for a cup of tea!

It only took her a couple minutes to get to the kitchen, brew a pot and bring it and two cups to the sitting room. But as soon a she sat down on the large couch, she heard a door open and close, and Louise stormed into the room. She looked utterly awful. Her eyes were red and filled with tears, her body was shivering, and her throat was tight. She immediately lunged at Chika, holding her at the waist as close and as tightly as she could, tears and shivers continuing without her saying a word.

"Oh dear, they used a Fenrir on you again, didn't they?" Chika asked in a knowing and worried tone as she put a hand on Louise head and used the other to hold her close.

"Th- Three." Louise said her voice little more than a squeak as she held Chika tighter, tears dripping onto her stomach and lap.

 **Goddess damned stupid dogs!**

"It's alright, they can't get you her, and you beat them. You're okay." Chika said softly as she held Louise close. Since Louise had taken to fighting off ASIC attacks they had found that, as far as they knew, Fenrir's unnerved her HDD form. The truth was that she despised and feared them horribly, it was just that she could hold back her reactions to them while in her Cool and stoic HDD form, at least for a time. The backlash always came, and it was always bad.

Still, they had finished their work for the day, she had a nice pot of tea by her, and had Louise to cuddle and console. It was not a good day, but it was not a bad day either!


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors note: ehehehe, now we have some fun. both in showing off a bit more of Louise's HDD, and some other things.**

 **Oh the fun.**

 **Chapter Beta Read by my Friend Nanashi wanderer. go check out his stuff, he's been writing longer than I have!**

"Are we seriously doing this? She ignored us, remember?" Uni said as the entire group walked up to Leanbox's Basiilicom.

"Yes. We know she likely returned here after fighting those ASIC Fenrir, so now is the best time," IF explained.

"But she like, ignored us and ran away!" Ram stated instantly.

"She probably had something to do, right?" Nepgear suggested, getting a strange look from Uni. "Well, we know she'll be here so we can meet her now, right?"

"Even if she's unwilling we need to ask about Leanbox's mascot disc as well," IF added as she pushed open the doors to the Basilicom and walked in with everyone beside her.

The inside of the Basilicom was quiet, but as they walked in Chika came out from a side door. Her body and beauty shocked many of them. Her body was perfectly curved and she wore a revealing yet elegant dress that showed it off to an amazing effect. Her eyes however seemed strange to Nepgear; as if she was expecting something.

"Welcome to the Leanbox Basilicom, is there something I can do for you, again?" Chika asked as she looked to Uni with a smile.

"Yes actually." Nepgear said as she took a step forward. "I am Nepgear, Planeptune's CPU candidate, and we almost met your candidate, but she left before we could. We were wondering if we could meet her?"

Chika looked at them for a moment and smiled, but then shook her head. "She is unfortunately . . . preoccupied at the moment and unavailable."

"Huh? But we just saw her less than an hour ago," IF stated with a huff. "What is she preoccupied with that she cannot meet the candidates of the other nations?"

"We are both running our country and fighting against ASIC at the same time, in addition to manpower, there is substantial amounts of paperwork that needs to be sifted through. She insists on doing it herself to make sure all is well with it."

"Oh, well that's sad, we were hoping to get her help to fight against ASIC," Nepgear said dejectedly.

"We are already fighting against ASIC." Chika said matter of factly. "How would you fight against them, if I may ask?"

"Mascots!"

"Discs!"

Said Ram and Rom at once. Chika looked at them in confusion, not used to multiple people talking exactly at the same time.

"Ah, Rom and Ram mean the mascots discs." Nepgear said after a second.

"We've already gotten the assistance from Planeptune's, Lowee's and Lastation's, so all we need is Leanbox's," Uni added proudly.

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask about that, do you know where Leanbox's Mascot disc is?" IF asked suddenly.

Chika hummed to herself for a moment before she shook her head. "I apologize, but I do not know anything about that. Perhaps we have something about it in our records, but I will have to look."

"I see. Please do, if nothing else, ASIC has tried to destroy the other nations mascot discs to weaken us, so it will need to be protected," IF explained. "We'll look into it as well; see if the guild knows anything. Can you please contact us when we can meet with Leanbox's candidate?"

Chika looked at IF's outstretched hand, holding what looked to be a piece of paper with her number on it, and after a moment took it and nodded. "I cannot promise anything, but I will see."

"Thank you. We'll come back if we find out the mascot discs location!" Nepgear stated with a smile as IF turned and walked out, the others following behind her.

A minute after all of them left Chika smiled and opened the door to the room, finding Louise sitting on the other side, still looking terrible, but also clearly interested in what had transpired.

"I- I can explain." Louise said in a low painful tone.

"No need," Chika said as she walked over to a bench in the Basilicoms main hall and sat down, gesturing for Louise to sit beside her. Louise immediately got up off the ground and came over to sit beside Chika, leaning against her side. "You wanted to know what they were here for. Did you hear it?"

"Mmmhmm," Louise mumbled as she leaned against Chika, not wanting to move away from the warmth of someone who understood her plight. "I've . . Never heard of a mascot disc though."

"I have once. They were guardians created by the first goddess to protect Gameindustri in case something happened to the Goddesses," Chika explained calmly as she moved her arm around Louise and gently rubbed her shoulder. "They do exist of course, but their locations are hidden."

" . . . . Do, we know where?" Louise asked after a moment of silence, still sounding hoarse and fearful, but like she was slowly getting better. It did always take a long time for the, effects, to wear off.

"I believe it should be marked down somewhere, yes, but I do not know it off the top of my head. We'll have to look through the old records to find out if it is written down."

"Th-then we should look right away, right?" Louise asked instantly, her voice breaking a bit before she coughed lightly. "If ASIC finds it-"

"They won't. If even we do not immediately recall it position, they won't know it yet either," Chika said surely. "I'll start searching later."

Louise shook her head against Chika. "No, let's look now. We need to beat ASIC to it at all costs."

Chika looked at Louise for a moment before shallowly nodding and standing up, perhaps it would help keep her mind off things and speed up her recovery. "Alright, then let's get to work!"

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"It feels like were being intentionally stopped by her," Uni grumbled as the group walked away from Leanbox's Basilicom.

"It does, doesn't it," IF agreed as she seemed to gaze out ahead absently.

"That's so mean too! I mean, we came all the way here and we just get ignored!"

"But she was fighting, so maybe she was tired?"

"Maybe. I wonder if there's a way we can find the Mascot on our own?" Compa said as she smiled at Rom and Ram's differing ideas.

"Oh yeah what if we look around at the guild and ask around?" Nepgear said happily, Compa's idea striking a chord with her.

"We could, but I doubt it will get us anywhere," IF said with a sigh. "I asked when we went by the guild before and they had no info on it. I didn't even hear a single rumor about it."

"So we're stuck then? That's absurd!" Uni complained as she kicked the ground and tripped a bit, causing her to glance down a side street, where Miss Underling was walking with a grin on her face. "Uh, I just saw Underling. Should we follow her?"

"She's probably looking for the mascot as well, let's do that. Maybe we can stop her from finding another one!" IF said with a smile.

"Hopefully it's not as boring as it was in Lowee," Nepgear said with a sigh as they all slunk after her.

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"Ugh it's not here either!" Louise groaned as she pushed a book away from her to the ever-growing pile in the centre of the Basilicom library's table.

"Yes, this Is becoming a problem," Chika agreed with a sigh as she picked up another book. She would love to just look online, but such old information was unlikely to be there. She let out a sigh and looked up at a clock on the wall. "We've been at this for hours now, we need a break."

Louise froze. "Wait, did you say hours?"

"Yes."

"What time is it?"

"Almost 6."

"Crap! I promised 5pb I was going to attend her concert and hang with her afterword's, I'm late!" Louise screamed as she tried to get up from the table and dart from the room.

Only to trip on the chair leg and land on the floor, on her face.

"Louise! Are you okay?" Chika exclaimed as she stood up and came around the table. Only to find Louise kneeling down and rubbing her nose and chest.

"I'm fine, it's not that bad," She said.

 **Only because my breasts cushioned my fall, ugh, ow.**

She did however blush a bit as she got up and brushed herself off. "Sorry, but can you keep looking while I'm gone?"

"I will, yes. Go and meet with 5pb. She needs the support, but have some fun, okay?"

"I will!" Louise shouted back as she ran out of the room at full sprint.

"Oh dear. . . I hope the concert goes off without a hitch . . . maybe she'll meet those other CPU Candidates as well!" Chika hummed to herself as she continued looking over books.

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"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Louise nearly screamed as she opened the door and came into 5pb's prep room, finding her sitting calmly in front of the mirror checking her makeup.

" Louise! No, its fine don't worry about it!" 5pb exclaimed as she got up and hugged her. "I'm so happy you're here, because um. . ."

Louise looked at the table to find a red and ragged piece of paper. She immediately scowled. "Are you getting threats from ASIC again?!"

5pb nodded. "It's the same as always, but it's still pretty scary, so you being here helps a lot. Normally you're early though."

"Sorry, I got caught up looking into something."

"Into what?"

"The other candidates are here in Leanbox, looking for our mascot Disc, an old entity that's supposed to guard the land in case the CPU's are gone. They said that ASIC is trying to destroy them, so me and Chika were trying to figure out its location."

"Our mascot disc?" 5pb asked as she closed her eyes and hummed a bit. "Um, I think I might know where it is."

"REALLY!?" Louise exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah. There's an old story I turned into a song a while back, about a green ghost that lives in a volcano to protect it, it's based off an old folk song."

"But there are two volcanoes in Leanbox! Do you know which one?"

"Um, no, not off the top of my head. It's in the song but it's been so long, I'd have to sing the song to remember."

"Oh," Louise said as she slumped a bit and sighed. "Okay, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you maybe sing it after the concert for me?"

"Actually I could probably sing it during the concert. I uh, kind of still haven't chosen the ending song actually, hehe."

Louise looked at 5pb for a second before letting out a sigh and smiling all at once. "That's the third time. ASIC is getting to you, huh?"

"I'd never admit it to anyone but you, Chika or Cave, but yes. They keep sending threats, and then there was that one time they sent a job posting for . . . ugh, the creeps!"

"Don't worry, we'll get rid of them yet. Me and Cave took out a base of them earlier today even!"

"From the way cave told it, you took it out all on your own, including some Fenrir," 5pb said with a snicker, before looking worried. "Are you okay though?"

"Of course I'm-" Louise stopped when she noticed how 5pb was looking at her. "Chika helped calm me down after it.

"Are you alright then?" 5pb asked with worry.

"I'm fine. . . .As long as I don't see any dogs or another one of those monsters for a while. I'll be fine."

"Okay, as long as you'll be fine," 5pb said with a content sigh before patting hr cheeks a bit. "Alright, I'm going to get out there and make every one really happy!"

"You will, I'll go help security, so knock 'em dead!" Louise exclaimed as both of them left the back room, and the concert truly began.

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"So, a green ghost that protects the land and hides in the Naasne volcano," Louise said to herself as she and 5pb sat in the backroom with a chocolate bar split between them.

The concert had gone off without a hitch. No violence, no problems with any systems, and no ASIC. 5pb had even ended the concert with her song version of the old folk tale, and not only did it sound wonderful, the fans took to it very well as well; as did her manager!

Now they just had to look over the actual lyrics.

"Yeah, that's the only real point that's clear," 5pb said with a sigh. "The old story just said where it lived and that it protected people."

"That's fine," Louise said with a smile. "It's a lead, and that's what I needed. Thank you for doing that. The song I mean."

"It's fine. Everyone really liked it too, even if it was a little different than what I normally sing," 5pb said with a smile as Louise downed her piece of chocolate and stood up. "Are you going to head over to Naasne already?"

"Yes, I need to find the mascot before anyone else does!"

"Are you going to tell Chika?"

" . . . I will, as I'm heading over there," Louise said after a moment of silence. The Naasne volcano was one of the places in Leanbox that Chika had said she should never go to, so she want looking forward to that conversation.

"Do you want me to come with you?" 5pb asked as she got up and wobbled a bit, still clearly tired from the concert.

"You're still tired, and I've just been standing around all day. Get some rest, I'll be fine."

"Well, alright. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will!" Louise called as she left the room, took a few steps, and then began running down the halls and out of the concert hall into the streets, towards the Naasne volcano.

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"Why'd we have to come to a volcano!"

"It's hot here."

Ram and Rom complained as the group moved through the caverns of the Naasne volcano.

"Yes, it is really hot, but the mascot disc might be here!" Nepgear exclaimed with a hopeful tone.

"Or we're just following a dead end," Uni growled in exasperation. "First that Underling leads us all around the city, then to a concert, then to a volcano! Ugh, today is not my day.

"Well that song did sound helpful right?" Compa suggested hopefully.

"Hopefully it was right and the mascot disc is here, otherwise we'll have nothing to show for this but heatstroke," IF said with a sigh as some small monsters came out from around a corner and ran past them. "Well, that's odd."

"This whole place is!" Uni complained as they all walked, checking out cavern walls and the rivers of magma. "All the monsters keep to themselves here, and it's so hot I'm sweating. I want a shower."

"I second that," IF said with a huff as she wiped some sweat off her brow. "I hope Leanbox has some good bathing facilities."

"It probably-" Nepgear began to say, until the sound of rocks striking rock echoed from ahead of them. A second later they turned the corner of the cavern and found what they hoped too.

The cavern ended in a rounded chamber, magma flowed separating the walls from the cavern floor and illuminating it with an orange light. Against the back wall, high up it, was a ledge with a faint green glow coming from it. And below in the Chambers centre stood Underling, who was trying, and failing, to throw rocks up at the ledge. She couldn't even throw halfway up the rock face, and appeared to be getting extremely aggravated.

"GRRRRr why is that thing so damn high up!? How am I supposed to smash it if I can't reach it?" Underling growled in anger as she stamped her feet on the ground and waved her crowbar about randomly.

"Ah, the Underling!" Both Ram and Rom exclaimed at once, causing Underling to wince at their voices and turn around.

"Oh no, not you bitches!"

"Yeah, us!" IF exclaimed. "So, that's why you went to the concert huh? To find out where the mascot was!"

"What? Hell no. That was just happy happenstance! But then I come here and that damn disc is up on a bloody cliff instead of on the ground where I can smash it nice and easy!" Underling complained as she swung her crowbar to the side and pulled out a grey looking disc. "I was hoping I'd get to meet you though, otherwise just using this beautiful piece of machine on the disc would be a waste!"

In that moment the disc began to glow, and as she let go of it, it exploded into light, and as the light died down the monster within it hovered before them menacingly.

"A- A killachine! How!?" Nepgear exclaimed in confusion. "We sealed them all back in Lowee!"

"Yeah, you broads managed to screw with us, but we managed to capture a few of them in some discs to release as we please! Now go kill those bitches killachine!"

The killachine let out a grinding roar and lunged forward at the party, its blade swinging and striking with deadly ferocity.

"Move!" Nepgear called out as she pulled out her sword and blocked the killachines strike, sending her sliding back almost three meters. In that time the rest backed away, prepared their weapons and struck. Fire, ice, and gunfire rained through the air at the killachine, all of it striking it, and simply glancing off.

"Ah, it's so hard!" Uni complained as she continued to fire and dodged a swing of its axe.

"It's even harder than the other ones!" IF exclaimed as she landed on the ground after an attack, her arms twitching and shaking from the blow.

"HA, we've enhanced that one so its defence is way higher, so you'll never beat it!" Underling cried out with glee as Ram and Rom's attack was deflected, and they were forced to dodge the killachine blow; only to get struck and sent flying by its tail.

"Ah, Ram, Rom!" Nepgear cried as she rushed over to them and blocked a chain of strikes from the killachine; getting knocked to the ground in the process just before her weapon was knocked out of her hands by its second last blow.

And the killachine raised its axe to strike her down.

"Ge-Ge!"

"Nepgear!"

"Miss Nepgear!"

A Flash of steel momentarily blinded everyone, and when they opened their eyes they saw something they did not expect.

Standing in front of Nepgear, Rom and Ram, blocking the Killachine's axe blade with the shafts of a pair of spears, was Green Sister. She stood there unflinching in her armoured glory, warm orange light reflecting off her dark green armour; her four wings floating behind her. For a moment all time seemed to stop until she swung her lanced forward, pushing the killachine back with so much force that it visibly reeled back. She then swung both of her lances to the side and glowered at the killachine. Seemingly waiting for it to prepare itself.

"A machine of murder. . . . . . . Time to break your gears!" Green sister said calmly, her voice like smooth ice; cold and sharp.

The killachine roared and swung its axe at her across the ground and with one swift movement she leapt over it. Her lance's raked across the arm as it passed under her, sparks flying with heavy shrieks. As soon as she landed she lunged at it and thrust one lance right at the killachine. Its tip struck its plating and to everyone's surprise, slipped right in. She pulled the lance right out and then swung the other at the killachine, slicing into the armour with the horizontal slice as well. All before the killachine let out a roar at the sudden damage to its body.

Its tail lashed out as it swung its mace both coming from one side. She leapt into the air and spun between the tail and mace, her lances spinning and striking both the tail and mace and knocking them apart enough for her to slip through. As she landed the killachine was facing away from its spin and as it turned about she lunged up at it and plunged both lances into its back. It began thrashing around, immediately trying to knock her off or strike her. Instead all it seemed to do was give Green sister momentum to stab both lances in and out of its back over and over. Then she suddenly pulled one lance out and spun it about in the air, light gathering in the spear before she plunged it back in with a scream.

"Explosive strike!"

A Flash broke out of the back of the killachine, then in one cacophonous roar its back blew apart in a massive green conflagration that seemed to wrap around Green Sister. The killachine broke into particles as she fell to the ground and landed without a sound.

"Whoa, I know we saw that fight against the Fenrir earlier, but wow." Nepgear muttered.

"Y-yeah," Uni agreed.

"So strong!" Ram and Rom exclaimed in stereo.

"How'd she get so strong?" Compa asked out loud, as Nepgear took a couple steps forward.

"Um, I uh. Hello!" Nepgear called out as she looked to Green sister.

Green sister turned her head to her without turning her body then look back at the wall, leaping into the air and flying up to the ledge. Deftly picking up what was indeed the Green Mascot disc she landed on the ground, her two spears seeming to have disappeared.

"Um, hello!" Nepgear called out again hopefully.

"What is it?" Green Sister asked coolly.

"Um, I'm Nepgear, Planeptune's CPU Candidate. These are my friends, IF, Compa, Ram, Rom and Uni. Ram and Rom are the Candidates of Lowee, and Uni is the candidate of Lastation. Thank you for beating that killachine, and um. We're looking for the mascots to get their power to go rescue our sisters, so could we maybe see it and be friends?"

The cavern was silent for many moments, until Green Sister's eyes suddenly narrowed. Nepgear took a step forward hopefully, and in that moment Green Sister attached the disc to the hip of her armour, and one of her spears shot out of her vambrace into her hand, pointing at Nepgear.

"You come here to my land, and ask for my help? You ask for favours, when for all these years you've been doing nothing, while I've been fighting tooth and nail to keep my land safe?" Green sister asked, her voice like venom laced steel.

"Um. . . yes?" Nepgear replied unsurely.

In that moment Green sister lunged forward, her lance aiming for Nepgear, and struck!


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone tried to move at once to save Nepgear, but none of them were fast enough and Green Sisters lance thrust through the air toward her head, and stopped just shy with the tip of its blade a bare millimeter away from Nepgear's nose.

Everyone was silent as they looked in shock. Then, suddenly the sound of a rock bouncing pulled their attentions to the side where Underling was trying to slink away.

"Tch," Green sister sounded as she pulled her lance away from Nepgears nose, just before lunging straight at Underling.

"Oh hell no!" Underling screamed as she tried to run, only for a lance to crash into the ground in front of her stopping her cold. A second later Green sister landed beside her and grabbed her by her jacket, lifting her up into the air. "You, ASIC goon, how much information do you have on ASIC's operations?"

"The hell, I'm not telling you, bitch!"

Green heart glared at her for a second before throwing Underling against the ground back first, causing her to cough on reflex. A second later Green sister made her lances disappear into her vambraces, and then picked up Underling with one hand, lifting her into the air again with just as much ease. "Last chance. Make this easy on yourself and talk!"

"To hell with-" Underling tried to say, before Green Sisters other hand came around, balled into a fist, and collided with underling head, knocking her unconscious with a single hit. A second later green sister threw her over her shoulder and looked at Nepgear. "You didn't pathetically flinch. Come to the Basilicom and I'll give you a chance to talk!"

And just like that Green sister lifted into the air and flew out of the cavern, leaving the party behind and filled with shock.

"Holy, she just knocked underling out and kidnapped her!" Compa exclaimed in surprise.

"uh Compa? I think detained or imprisoned would be more accurate." IF said with a sigh as she looked at Nepgear. "You away Gear?"

" . . . . . . . . "

"Huh? Nepgear are okay?" Uni asked as she walked around to look at Nepgear. Worried that she did not respond. When she came around she found Nepgears eyes complexly unfocused, and a second later she began to fall forward, being cuaght by Uni. " Whoa, Nepgear!?"

"Put her down and let Compa take a look at her!" If immidiatly ordered.

"Miss Nepgear fell down!"

"Lame. . . is she okay?" Rom and Ram asked at once as Uni laid Nepgear down and Compa looked her over.

" Ge-Ge's . . . . Fainted." Compa said after a moment with a smile. "Otherwise she's perfectly fine!"

"Wait, she fainted?" Uni asked in surprise.

"Yep Yep!" Compa replied as she looked down at Nepgear. "She probably didn't see the pointy thing immediately, so when she saw it, it made her faint."

"She probably didn't expect such a violent reaction." IF suggested as she looked at the killachines wreckage and sighed. "Now I know what Miss Cave meant. Leanbox's Candidate is pretty extreme!"

"Extreme? She almost hurt Nepgear without so much as a single bit of notice!" Uni yelled.

Rom and Ram both nodded. "Yeah, she attacked for no reason!"

"No, that's not right, she, she had a point, I think." Nepgear said as she stirred and sat up with some help from Compa.

"What! How can you say that when she attacked you!?" Uni exclaimed.

"Well, she wasn't wrong," Nepgear said solemnly as she looked to IF.

If let out a sigh. "Let's just go back to the Basilicom and see what she has to say."

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"Uuuuuwwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! I Hate my HDD!" Louise screamed into her pillow as she lay on her bed, legs kicking into thw air haphazardly.

"You shouldn't, Your HDD is very powerful." Chika said as she leaned in the doorway to Louise's room, watching the scene before her with mixed feelings. On one hand Louise was very upset. On the other, she looked absolutely adorable as she screamed into her pillow, and the secret pictures she was taking would be fawned over by Vert like there was no tomorrow when she returned!

"Oh yeah, sure it's powerful, but there's so much wrong with it! I'm too rigid, I barely show any good emotions, and I'm completely cold and calculating, and it reminds me far too much of my old mother!" Louise hollered out as she sat up and looked at Chika, pulling up fingers for each problem she stated.

 _"Is this really the way a CPU candidate should act? I am thankful for you saving me, but if I understand correctly the situation is dire, no?"_ Asked the Green Mascot disc as it sat on Louise's bedside table.

Louise let out a groan as she sunk her head down and nodded.

"Don't worry, we're already working on fixing the situation," Chika said with a smile as she sauntered over to the disc and gently picked it up. "And speaking of situations, you did invite them to come speak to you, did you not?"

Louise nodded.

"Did you specify a time?"

Louise shook her head.

"Then how likely is it that they will come straight here?"

Louise looked up at Chika as her face began to slowly pale to paper white. "Oh, Crap."

" Precisely. So we need to get ready. Go have a bath and clean yourself up while I tidy up the sitting room. With any luck they decide to walk here and not fly." Chika said as she turned to leave.

"I think there were some people in their group that can't fly, so I think they would walk."

"Good, I'll have time to prepare." Chika said as she left the room with the disc.

 **She didn't remember that we went to the one place she didn't want us too!**

"Oh, and we'll be talking about you having gone to that volcano when you get out of the bath if there not here already by then, so go clean up!" suddenly Came Chika's voice from the hall.

"Crap. . . . . I better have that bath." Louise grumbled as she grabbed a change of clothing and left her room, heading for the bathroom. Maybe there she could calm down and think about what exactly she would talk to them about. She did want answers, but she had no idea how to ask them.

Yes, as long as she had the time to calm down.

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"So. . . . you are saying that our Candidate invited you here to speak when you encountered her?" Chika asked as she sat in the sitting room across from Nepgear and Company. She had only just gotten down to the sitting room and looked it over when the group came calling. They apparently could walk surprisingly fast!

"That's right. She said we could speak to her after we met in the volcano!" Nepgear exclaimed with a smile.

"So we can see her this time, right?" Uni added immediately, seeming slightly demanding with her tone.

Chika opened her mouth to counter the young candidate's attitude, but suddenly had a glorious idea. A way to make them get what they'd like, and teach Louise a little lesson about not listening to her when she should. The best part was that Vert would totally be for such an idea if she was around! "Yes you can. she's currently in the bath, but I'm sure she would not mind meeting you all there!"

"EH? I-in the bath?" Nepgear asked nervously.

"Yes!" Chika said with a soft smile. "What better way to meet someone, without any trappings so you can see them for who they are, and they can see the same of you?"

"Oh I see, Skinship!" Compa exclaimed.

"Sure its easy to say, but its harder to go through with." IF said as she looked at Chika. "What exactly are trying to do here?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Chika asked with a smile. "If you'd prefer to wait here you can, but she can take very long baths. She may be many hours."

"Hours? But its already late?"

"Yeah, it's already really dark out! Ram and Rom both stated, with a pair of simultaneous yawns.

"Well that sounds like its decided, but what do we want to do?" If asked as she looked to Uni and Nepgear.

"Should we Uni?" Nepgear asked.

"Y-you don't need to ask me! . . . But, I guess we could. Where is this bath then? I hope it's at least half as good as mine back home!"

"Excellent, then please allow me to show you all the way," Chika said as she stood up. "And you can go right in!"

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If Louise had been asked what were the things she preferred about Gameindustri over Halkeginian, she knew what her answers would be. The far superior concept and ideas of health and cleanliness. Similarly one of the perks of being a CPU candidate she enjoyed heavily was the Basilicom's bath.

Apparently it had been modified by Vert years before she had been reborn, and it was an amazing bath, far better than anything in her previous life.

White marble tiles covered the floor, while similarly stone columns rose up to hold the roof above up. The bath itself was an open air bath, with the ceiling far above being open to the elements. In case of inclement weather it did have glass shutters that could be pulled closed. On one side of the bathing area was a wall of mirror and benches of various sizes, allowing anyone to clean themselves off. There was also a sauna, a steam room and numerous showers. But after cleaning herself off Louise could only imagine doing one thing that before she would never have thought of doing.

Simply sitting up to her neck in the large hot water pool that took up the majority of the bathing area. It was not deep, allowing even her to stand up fully straight in its centre, but the natural steps and stone benches built into its edges made it extremely easy to simply just sit and enjoy the warmth.

And oh did she enjoy it! There was nothing even comparable to the bliss in Halkeginia. Sure they had communal baths at the academy, but they were barely warm in compare, and being surrounded by people who hated her guts had always made it far less than enjoyable.

The fact that the basilicom bath had an arrangement of minerals filtered into it by Chika's request made it even better, as she and Vert had always swore that the bath helped keep their skin perfect and their hair shiny. Louise almost believed it, and while she wouldn't admit it, really wanted to come into the bath with Vert again.

 **She's just so soft and comfy!**

Louise blushed a bit and shook her head, sinking down to her jaw as she let out a content hum. Paperwork, ASIC, Fenrir's, a hot bath made all of it seem manageable, even if for a short time.

Just her and the bath.

Until the sound of the door to the bath slidng open with a crack suddenly made Louise jump in surprise.

"Did Chika come in . . . no, she said she wasn't going to. . . .. Then who?" Louise muttered quietly against the water as she sunk a bit further down, hoping the steam rising from the water, and the water itself, would hide her from immediate sight.

A second later she heard a chorus of voices, and then saw their owners, and felt herself freeze in both nervousness and annoyance.

It was the other CPU Candidates and the other two that were with them. All of them stark and unclothed, clearly coming into the bath!

 **Dammit Chika why'd you let them in!**

Louise shook her head and kicked that thought out of her mind. No. This was her home, and she was not going to just let them push her around and demand answers out of her! Thinking of what Vert or Chika would do she sat up against the wall of the pool, her head completely out, and got as comfortable as she could. Then, as soon as they got closer and the mist began parting around their forms, she acted.

"So, you came." Louise stated as loudly as she could without her voice wavering.

All of them turned to Louise, looks of surprise paining their faces. "Oh, did we get the wrong bath?" Nepgear asked worryingly.

"No, Chika said it was this one. So this must be Leanbox's Candidate!" IF explained as she looked to Louise. "Right?"

For a moment nothing happened, then Louise suddenly let out an exasperated scream. As she planted her face in her hands, and then in the water, her screams coming out between bubble of water. " ARGH, I forgot to be in my HDD, Dammit!"

For Nepgear and everyone else, who had seen Louise twice in only her Extremely powerful and cold HDD form, this sudden outburst was shocking to say the least. To say that none of them knew what to say was an understatement.

"Wha-?"

"Why did she yell!?"

"Oh, she turned into Uni!"

"What the heck?"

Some of them said all at once, mulling what the other said into a sudden bout of noise. in it though, Nepgear had stepped forward and walked into the pool, stepping in front of Louise. "Um, yes came to meet you. I'm the Candidate of Planeptune, Nepgear. Your Leanbox's Candidate, Verts sister Louise, right?"

Everyone went silent in an instant as Louise looked up at Nepgear. "Y-yes. How do you know my name? It was Chika, wasn't it?"

Nepgear shook her head and sat down in the pool, her expression suddenly becoming oddly solemn. "No. I heard it from Vert. My sister took me with her when she and the others went to the graveyard, and Vert talked about you a lot on the way there."

"You . . . were with them?" Louise asked as the other girls all quietly got into the bath as well.

"Y-yes. I was captured too." Nepgear admitted.

"Compa and I worked for a long time to get them out, but we were only able to free Nepgear." IF added as she glared at Louise. "So don't you dare say something about her doing nothing while she was captured!"

" . . . I'm sorry . . . for . . . . . . . ." Louise said, far too quiet to be accurately understood.

"Pardon?" Nepgear asked being the closest to Louise, and the only one to have heard her murmur.

"I SAID I'M SORRRY FOR THREATENING YOU!" Louise suddenly screamed, making everyone wince as she continued. "Seeing you all in Leanbox so casually when I've been fighting tooth and nail to keep ASIC out pissed me off and I just snapped at you! My HDD makes me, cold and strict and calculating and it just angered me that you all looked so chipper and happy when asking for a favour while our sisters are not around!"

The entire bath was complete quiet for a moment, no one sure how to exactly react. As Louise had said, her HDD was cold and calculating, but now it was clear to them that she was not.

"Wait, so you didn't know that Ge-Ge had been captured as well?" Compa asked calmly.

Louise shook her head as she sunk down into the water down to her nose.

"Then why did you threaten her huh?" Uni demanded, sounding very angry as Rom and Ram both nodded in unison.

"I already told you! I was pissed off that you all looked so cheerful when talking about going to save our sisters!" Louise muttered through the water, her words hard but not impossible to catch. "And for you being ignored by ASIC."

"Wait, what was that last part?" IF suddenly pressed.

"Yeah, did you just ASIC was ignoring us?" Nepgear asked hopefully.

"What else would you call it?" Louise asked as she lifted her chin above the water and pulled her legs close, wrapping her arms around in the water. "ASIC Goes after your countries shares and tries to get your peoples support, but when they tried they here Chika and I pushed back immediately to make them unable to. Right after that they began pushing harder and harder until they began sending in military forces and began trying to weaken us with violence. Even one of their commanders comes by on occasion!"

"You mean one of the four felons?" Uni asked nervously.

"Yeah, why? It doesn't matter who does it? The point is that ASIC is violently attacking Leanbox while all your nations have to deal with their shares being whittled away!"

"And how are you so sure that they haven't attacked planeptune or Lastation violently?" IF asked.

"Because about a year ago we broke into an ASIC base and found a computer filled with some orders. It stated that they considered Leanbox the most tactically important land to take over as it could be controlled most easily by closing its borders if they gained control of it. They didn't consider Lowee a danger, and they did not think Planeptune could do anything without a CPU." Louise replied, remembering the details as best she could as she looked to Uni. " They were more worried about Leanbox and Lastation, because both of us were actively fighting against them."

"Ah, well obviously they would, I mean. I have tried my hardest," Uni replied, her voice turning more and more into a mumble as she spoke.

"Hold that thought and back up a bit. You said one of ASIC's generals comes to attack Leanbox often? Is it one of the three remaining for felons?" IF asked, making Louise perk up a bit.

"Wait, three remaining? One of them is dead!?" Louise exclaimed in surprise. "How? I've fought one of them repeatedly and the best I can do is break even against em!"

"We killed the creepy one!"

"We killed the licky icky one!"

Ram and Rom exclaimed at once, Louise responding only with a blank stare.

"CFW Trick, one of the four felons who was in Lowee stalking Ram and Rom. we all took him on together and came out as the winners." IF explained.

"Yeah, but it was not easy, that creep was very durable!" Uni added with a shiver.

"So, um, yeah, one of them is gone. Which one is attacking Leanbox?" Nepgear asked in a worried tone.

"I . . . I don't know. He never says his name. Just goes on about killing me and destroying Leanbox." Louise admitted.

"So it's not him then." Uni muttered with a sigh of relief, heard only just barely by Louse and Nepgear, though neither understood what she meant.

"is that bad guy leading the rest of the bad guys here?" Rom asked Louise immediate.

"N-no, he doesn't lead them. I've even watched him blow past ASIC goons to get at me, taking them down in the process."

"What the goodness! He hurts his allies?" Nepgear exclaimed in shock.

"If he just hurt them it'd make fighting him so much easier as it would prove he cared for them somewhat." Louise responded grimly, making everyone realize just what she meant.

For many moments the room was perfectly quiet except for the sot sounds of water splashing up against the baths edge, or the occasional drip of water falling into a drain or to the floor.

"Um, it is late, so if you don't have a place to stay, I can ask Chika to prepare rooms for you." Louise suddenly said as he stood up and climbed out of the bath, grabbing a folded towel that had been nearby and wrapping it around herself deftly. "We can, um, continue this conversation in the morning, I guess then."

"That sounds good, thank you." IF replied with a slight bow.

Louise nodded and then quickly left the bathing area, moving far faster than it looked like her legs could move her.

"Well, she's not what I expected considering her HDD. It's like Neptune all over again with that personality change." IF said with a sigh.

"Y-yeah, she was actually nice, huh Uni?

"I- I guess so.

"She's like another Uni!" Roma and Ram both said at once with smiles.

"What? How do you even-"

"AH!" Nepgear suddenly squeaked, stopping Uni midsentence. "I forgot to ask her if she wanted to be our friend and help us save out sisters!"

Everyone looked at Nepgear before breaking into a chorus of laughter.

"Ge-Ge, we can do that tomorrow!" Compa said with a smile. "She even said so herself!"

"Oh, right."

"Don't worry, Nepgear. Even if she's little crazy, she's strong," Uni said with a smile. "Once she's on our side we'll all be on the same side to save our sisters, and to take out those ASIC guys!"

"Yeah . . . tomorrow I'll ask her to come with us!"

 **Authors note: Not a massive chapter but that's because it's a setup for the next, where the fun begins.**

 **Oh and on a random note, I'm writing an arpeggio of blue steel story at the moment. If you like the series, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. It can be found on my profile page as Daemons of the fog.**

 **Until the next chapter, where things will get interesting!**


	9. Chapter 9

Nepgear opened her eyes and blinked, moving a hand in the way of the beam of sunlight that filtered in and struck her eyes. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes and glanced out the window at the brilliant sun.

Then remembered that her room did not face the sun in the morning.

Glancing around Nepgear looked over the room in sudden worry. The walls were green with white edging and. . . . "Oh right, we stayed the night here in Leanbox's Basiilicom." Nepgear said with a smile as she pushed the covers off her and got up off the bed.

Chika had given everyone their own room, though Rom and Ram insisted on sharing. But now it was the morning, and she could finally do what she had been trying to do!

Getting dressed as quickly as she could, Nepgear left the room with her few things and headed for the dining room that Chika had shown them the night before. If anyone else was awake, they would be there!

"Nepgear, morning!"

Nepgear turned to see Uni walk up beside her with a smile on her face.

"Sleep well?"

"I did yes, how about you Uni?"

"As good as could be expected. This place is nice, but I'd sleep better in my own room."

"I know what you mean. This building is beautiful though. Being made out of stone and looking so regal makes it feels so grand!"

"I guess so. What do you think our next objective should be? Once we get Green sister and Leanbox's disc on our side I mean."

"Well, unless Histoire knows of something else, we go and save our sisters!" Nepgear proclaimed strongly.

"Quiet the statement," Came Chikas voice as the two girls looked up to see her standing in the hallway ahead of them, right outside of the dining room. As before while her clothing was rather revealing, she did look drop dead gorgeous in them, and it suited her fabulously.

"Oh, um, we're we to loud?" Nepgear asked apologetically.

"No, not at all. Considering someone is still asleep I don't think you're being loud enough," Chika said with a light chuckle, before her expression turned serious. "I've been speaking with IF. Are you sure you are all ready to go save Vert and the others?"

Both Nepgear and Uni were taken aback. One second Chika was warm and pleasant, and in the next she became cold, entirely about business. What was the worst though was her gaze, it was totally fixed on them, as if sizing them up and down.

"Why do you ask? It's not like you've gone to save them!" Uni declared.

Chika simply crossed hr arms and looked down on Uni, her expression unchanging. "I am not one to engage in combat. I ask this solely upon hearing IF's explanations of what you al thought of Louise when you first saw her. If she appears so strong to you, yet she still is unable to defeat one of ASIC's generals, then what hope do you all have on your own?"

"Er, that's-" Uni tried to respond, until Nepgear spoke up.

"We won't be alone! We have each other to help us, that's how we beat Trick and how we will save our sisters!"

Chika looked at her for a moment before her expression returned to normal. "Alright we'll have to see if you can back that up. after all, you' should aim to defat all of ASIC's Generals, as doing so would certainly increase your chances of victory, yes?"

"Oh, darn, that means. . . " Uni muttered quietly to herself, as Nepgear nodded in agreement with Chika's statement.

"So you'll let us take the mascot disc with us to save our sisters then? Will Louise come with us?" Nepgear asked hopefully.

"You will have to ask Louise herself if she will be joining you, and here she-"

"HE'S HERE!" Louise screamed as she ran down the hall spear in hand and went right past Chika, Uni and Nepgear.

"What?!" Uni and Nepgear both exclaimed in confusion as Chika turned to Louise and called out to her.

"The general? You're sure?" Chika asked.

"Of course I'm sure, get cave to keep people away from the area!" Louise yelled as she turned and disappeared down a hall, her voice ringing out as she yelled back from out of sight.

"This time I'm killing him!"

A Second later the sound of a door slamming made Nepgear jump a bit, while Chika merely sighed. "Oh dear, this timing is less than perfect."

"Wait, what is going on?" Uni demanded to know.

"Everyone else is already in the dining room, get them and head into the city as quickly as you can," Chika stated as she took out a phone and began typing a number into it.

"Please, can you tell us what is going on?" Nepgear pleaded, prompting Chika to look at the two girls.

"The ASIC General that has been harassing Leanbox has appeared again it would seem!"

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Louise could feel the adrenaline pumping through her body as she ran through the city. She could feel the hopes of people rushing through her, and could even feel her own hate rising,

She had gotten up, gotten dressed, and had been preparing herself for talking with the other candidates. She still wasn't sure about it, talking to them, or working with them, but she had to or they would get nowhere.

That was when she had glanced out the window and seen it. That massive mechanical body, the large blade, that maniacal and vindictive laugh! Her enemy had come again, and she was going to end it! She would win this time, and when she won and killed him, she could finally say she was worthy of her position, worthy of being Verts sister!

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"So she just ran off and chika is saying one of ASIC's generals is here?" IF asked as she, Nepgear, Uni, Rom, Ram and Compa all ran down the streets away from Leanbox's basilicom into the depths of the city.

"Something like that, it happened really fast," Uni replied as the group turned a corner, just in time to see a car tumble down the street, sending sparks flying everywhere. As they looked down the street they all gasped in shock and surprise. Buildings had gashes out of them, small fires burned in spots, and ASIC monsters ran all over fighting guild agents. At the back of the street near an intersection was where the real chaos was occurring though, as a gigantic machine hovered above the street. It had no legs, just massive cylinders and blocks that glowed ominously, and it had large wings each shaped like a fan of blades. The machines entire body was dark in color, and had insignias and shapes of blades and skulls across it. Perhaps most terrifying though was the large axe it held and swung effortlessly around it as it roared out in rage.

 **"Quite moving and let me slaughter ya already!"**

In that moment they all noticed Louise in her HDD, Dodging the machines swipes and throwing her own, taking small nicks and cuts out of its around, but not being able to do any real noticeable damage due to its movements and protruding sections of armour and spines.

"Counter offer, just die already!" Green Sister exclaimed as she flew over the machines fist, only to get glanced by the flat side of the axe, sending her flying backwards to the road. Just before she would have struck it she spun in the air and struck both of her lanced into the asphalt, slowing her as she slid almost ten feet before she stopped moving.

 **"Grahahahaah! You put up a good fight like always, but this time I will kill you!"**

"Can it you damned piece of junk! You couldn't kill me before and you won't now, because I will be the one tearing your head off and mounting it on my wall as a trophy!" Green sister declared as she pulled both of her lances out of the ground and hefted them into a comfortable position as she began walking toward the machine again.

 **"Grahahahaha, youre one of the few who willingly challenges me head on by yourself, a worthy opponent for me to slaughter and kill!"** The machine declared as it suddenly rushed toward her, far faster than one would think possible considering its bulk.

Green sister lunged forward at the machine, and deftly parried its blow before leaping up into the air and swinging her lances down its front, carving shallow but visible cuts into its armour as the pair began fighting again in earnest.

"It's him!" Nepgear stated, her tone filled with worry and fear.

"What?" IF asked in surprise.

"That machine. He's the one who beat me when I was with my sister! CFW Judge."

"So he is one of the four felons then!" IF exclaimed.

"Then let's take him out!" Uni stated as she aimed her gun at him.

"Don't!" Came Cave's voice from somewhere nearby just as Uni pulled the trigger and changed the fights progression.

The beam cut through the air and struck Judge's shoulder, burning though plates and coming out the other side. Neither Judge or Green sister had expected it and looked toward Uni, only for Judge to take advantage of the split attention. With a heavy swing his axe crashed into green sisters side and sent her flying down the street and right into a building with an ear splitting shatter as glass, stone, and metal buckled on her as she embedded in an through it.

"Oh, did I do that?" Uni asked, clearly embarrassed by what had just happened.

 **"GRahahahaaahaahah that's what you get for looking away in a fight! Now I can kill all I want without you getting in the way!"** Judge suddenly and loudly declared, shaking the buildings with his intent.

"We have to stop him!" If cried out as she rushed forward.

"Ah, R-right." Nepgear answered nervously as everyone followed forward, getting Judges Attention as they closed the distance.

 **"Oh more lambs to the slaughter! I'll kill you all!"**

"As if we'd let you!" Uni declared as he hefted her rifle.

"Yeah, you big meany!" Ram exclaimed, getting a nod of agreement from Rom.

 **"You, you're all CPU Candidates!"** Judge stated before pointing his axe at Nepgear. **"And don't think I've forgotten what you did to my eyes. I'll murder a bitch like you myself!"**

"We- we won't let you!" Nepgear responded, her voice shaky.

 **"Ha! I beat you once, and now I can beat all of you at once! Now die for my- ARGH!"** Judge roared only to scream in pain as a Lance flew through the air and embedded itself right in his wounded shoulder.

A Second later Green sister landed on the pavement between Judge and the other candidates with a lance in one hand. She held her free arm out and opened her hand, and in that second the lance in judges shoulder ripped out, spun through the air and landed in her hand with the clink of metal. "I'm not done with you!" Green sister said coldly, her voice filled with a low boiling rage.

"We can help you beat-" Nepgear began to say.

"He's mine! Back off, and stay out of this!" Green sister yelled as she bolted forward and began engaging Judge, leaving the other candidates looking on in shock.

"What the hell!? she just blew us off!" Ram exclaimed angrily.

"That's mean." Rom agreed.

"Yeah but why when she's not looking so good?" Uni asked as Nepgear took a step forward to go and help anyway.

Just then Cave landed in front of them, looking slightly tired, but no worse for wear. "I apologize or calling out earlier as it did not help, but you should not get in her way."

"Why?" IF asked coolly, more interested in the answer than the fact.

"CFW Judge has repeatedly attempted this, and each time Green Sister attempts to beat him on her own as a show of proof. Proof that no citizen of Leanbox needs and few understand." Cave attempted to explain.

"What, so she wants to prove she's strong, so she can get her sisters attention or something?" Uni asked, and then immediately sunk her head down a bit after she had spoken. "Is that why she wants to beat him herself?"

"Not precisely," Cave said as she turned to look at the fight, watching Green Sister dodge axe swings and counter each one with a strike of her own. She was doing well, a little better than usual perhaps, but it was hard to tell. "She is fighting to prove that she is worthy of Being Leanbox's candidate, because she feels like she has not earned the recognition she has been given."

"Huh?!" Uni exclaimed in confusion. "What's up with that?"

Cave nodded. "That is most people reaction when they find out. Only Vert, Chika, 5pb and I know the real reason. However that you will have to learn from Green Sister herself."

Just then a barrage of loud claps caught everyone attention and pulled it back to the fight. Green sister was standing on the street away from judge, and a seemingly never ending barrage of near invisible bolts of force whipped away from above hr shoulders, pummeling Judge who was trying without gain to block them all. A few seconds later they ended, and Green sister immediately rushed at Judge who till seemed stunned and exhausted. She leapt up at him and thrust both blades forward, only for Judge to dodge out of the way in an almost elegant fashion that made him plow through a bus shelter that had somehow survived their conflict thusfar.

 **"Graaaaa! You think I'll keep falling for that same trick each time I try to kill you!"**

Green sister response was to spin around in place and whip one of her lances at him, catching him off guard in shock. He tried to move, but the lance was moving too quickly and struck his good, unwounded shoulder with a metallic thud.

Green Sister raised her free hand up into the air and clenched it shup. "Implosion!"

Her lance bent at odd angles, seemingly screeching like a howling monster, and then began to glow before it detonated, the blast consuming Judge in fire, smoke and light.

For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, until a bus came flying out of the smoke, right towards Green Sister. She tried to leap out of the way, but was clipped and sent tumbling down the street just as an axe blade tore through the smoke, dispersing it and showing Judges State. His one piece of shoulder armour was completely gone, as was one wing that was behind it. His armour was scarred and blackened in places, while one of the massive chunks of metal that made up his lower body was crumbling into flecks of data. Perhaps the most impressive point though was the fact that the spear point of his axe was missing, and there was a sizable chunk out of its blade.

 **"You, insult me with your power! How am I supposed to slaughter you when you keep fighting back!?"** Judge screamed in anger as he swung his axe about in a fit. Only after a few swings did he notice the state of his weapon, and the air around him seemed to become silent in response. **"** **You damaged my axe!"**

"Maybe you should stop swinging it around like a club then," Green sister stated as she held out her open hand just in time for a new lance to fly out of her vambrace and into her awaiting hand.

The Green across Judge's body began slowly shifting to red as his claws clenched his axe more tightly.

"Oh Goodness, we have to help her!" Nepgear called out as she ran past Cave. At that same moment Judge rushed at Green Sister, his axe flailing madly, some swings without the edge even facing her. The speed of the swings, however, combined with the ferocity of them was what made it dangerous, and Green Sister was immediately put on the defensive as she tried to block or dodge the blows. She was doing a good job, but just as Nepgear got close Green Sister had a lance knocked out of her hand by a blow, leaving her wide open. Judge swing hard at her, but the opening was perfect, and Nepgear leapt into the air, transformed and threw her blade in the way of Judge's, blocking it with a sudden clash of steel. Before judge could even exclaim his surprise Nepgear pushed the blade back, and threw one of her own skills into the fray, one she had not known when she fought judge in the past. "Panzer Blade!"

Nepgears Five heavy strikes all hit home and pushed Judge back, for a moment. As soon as her last strike hit he raised his own blade to strike her down, only to be suddenly struck by a full clip of beam fire from Uni's blaster, and then an onslaught of ice and wind, courtesy of Ram and Rom.

Judge swung his axe into the ground, sendin cloud of dust as he flew up into the air with a snarl. **"Bitches! How dare you get in the way of my killing! I'll kill you all yet, but not now! I'll savour it when I do though!"**

Barely a second later he was high in the sky and flying off into the distance. With their leader gone all of the ASIC thugs, and controlled monsters in the area began scattering, their will and morale broken.

"Nepgear! Are you alright?" Uni called as she, Rom, Ram, Compa and IF all ran over with worried expressions.

"Y-Yes. I'm all right." Nepgear said as she turned to them, visibly shaking a bit at the knees.

"You sure, you're shaking pretty badly," IF stated.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just unsure if I could help, when CFW Judge beat me back at the graveyard it was so one sided. Thank you for the help!"

"You looked like you needed it and-" Uni began, till the sound of metal caught their attention.

Turning toward the noise they found Green sister kneeling on the pavement with her hands o nthe ground holding herself up. Then before anyone could question it, she began beating on the pavement in a rage. "Dam it! Dam it! DAM IT!" She screamed as her final hit cracked the pavement underneath her fist.

"Goodness, are you alright?" Nepgear asked in worry.

Green sister punched the pavement again. "No, I'm not. Why did you get in the way!?"

"Hey, we just saved you!" Uni snapped back, making Green sister look up at her, just as her vambraces began to faintly glow.

"You got in the way!" Green sister growled coldly as she stood up and looked down at Uni, Her HDD giving her a little bit of height over her. "You got in my way and-"

"Green sister, I apologize for intruding," Cave said as she walked over with a series look. "But your Vambraces."

Green Sister looked down at them just as they stopped glowing and the armour over her forearms disappeared completely. "Dam. . . . JUST DAMMIT!" She screamed as she crouched down and then bolted into the air, flying right toward the Basilicom and disappearing out of sight in seconds.

"What was that about?" Ram asked in annoyance as Uni simply scowled.

"She does not like people seeing her transform if it can be helped," Cave said simply as she looked around and sighed softly. "I will help the rest of the guild agents and local forces clean up the area. 5pb will likely be heading over to the basilicom to see Louise, but considering what has happened, can I ask you all to go and speak with her?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea when she clearly is blaming us." IF said with a wave of her hands.

"She does not blame you," Cave stated simply.

"But she clearly said we got in the way when we saved her!" Uni countered, getting a nod from Ram and Rom.

"No, Trust me when I say she does not truly blame you. Her HDD is cold and quick to anger, but much of what she says in her HDD is false or not completely true when her emotions are roiling," Cave explained. "Go and see her, speak with her, and try to honestly learn about her, and you shall see what I mean.

"Alright, we'll go and talk to her then!" Negear exclaimed, much to Uni, and IF's surprise.

"Uh Nepgear, she just blamed us, blamed you for getting in the way, remember?" Uni said seriously.

"Yes, but if what miss Cave says is true, then she didn't mean it! And I kind of did get in her way to block that blow. Besides I still haven't been able to ask her to be our friend and help us save out sisters!"

"B-but she's kind of scary." Rom said meekly, getting a nod of agreement from Ram.

"Uh huh, uh huh, and she blamed us!"

"She was probably just annoyed from being hurt," Compa chirped in, ruining the serious direction of the conversation.

"Well, I guess, but I still want to ask her, and find out what Miss cave was meaning and . . . where did she go?" Nepgear asked as she noticed that Cave was indeed nowhere to be seen.

"She ran off to go help move some rubble from a store front," IF said as she let out a sigh. "We'll have to go back to the Basilicom anyway, so let's get moving. You can decide if you talk to her not on the way,."

"No, I've already decided. she, looked kind of sad when she glared at us I think, and I remember her seeming afraid when fighting that Fenrir yesterday too. I want to talk to her; I want to learn about her, I want us to all be friends!" Nepgear declared strongly.

"Well, if Miss Nepgear gives her a chance, I will too!" Rom suddenly said.

"Rom, are you serious!"

"M-hmm." Rom hummed with a nod.

"Ugh, fine, let's get heading back then and see where this leads us!" Uni groaned as the party began heading back to the basilicom.

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"Louise, are you in there?" 5pb asked as she stood in front of Louise's door. She had been in the city during ASIC's attack and had been helping people get away, and helping guild agents with her songs, but when everything was over she saw Louise flying back to the Basilicom at high speed. It was not a good sign, as it meant that there likely had not been a victor between her and judge.

Silence answered her.

"Louise, you're in there, right?"

A muffled sniffle and sob answered her, along with what sounded like something that might have been a word, but she couldn't tell.

"I'm coming in if you don't say anything."

No reply.

"I'm coming in," 5pb said as she finally opened the door to Louise's room and walked in. The room was simple yet elegant, kept tidy just how Louise liked it. Numerous books sat on a bookshelf beside her desk and on a shelf above it, and a tablet sat on the desk beside a pad of paper and a collection of pens. The window was closed with the thin blinds closed over it, making the late morning light come in slightly green. The only thing that was off from the norm was the large mass under the covers of Louise bed that squirmed a bit every few seconds. She could even hear muffled sobs and hiccups from under the sheets.

5pb let out a light sigh. It was not a common scene, but she had seen it a small number of times. Louise was very good at keeping some emotions down, but eventually they always came up, and her breakdowns while again very rare, were not wholly unheard off especially if she had lost against ASIC. She had helped her friend pull through them before, and would do the same now!

Stepping further into the room 5pb came up to the bed and sat down on the edge right at the centre, beside the lump that was Louise under the covers. She waited a second then turned to the side and put a hand on the lump. It twitched in response as the sobbing continued, less muffled than before.

"It's okay, I'm here," 5pb said softly. After a few minutes of silence she spoke up again. "It was him, wasn't it?"

"MM Hmmm," came an affirmative cross between a moan of sadness and a groan and anger.

"You saved a lot of people probably you know?"

"Mmmmm"

"It's okay. You're still here, and you'll beat him eventually. So come out of those sheets, okay?"

The sheets shifted a bit and then lifted up as Louise squirmed out from under the sheets and slipped them over her head, allowing 5pb to see her kneeling on the bed looking at her, eyes red from tears and her clothing disheveled. "I lost," Louise said with a sniff as she brushed her wrist against her nose.

"You're still here, you didn't lose."

"I did, he got away again. . . . I still haven't been able to do it," Louise said with another sniff, as tears began to slip from the edges of her eyes.

"You don't need to prove it to anyone Louise, Chika and me both agree that you do more than enough to earn the praise you get," 5pb said softly.

"I know that," Louise said as she nearly lunged at 5pb and wrapped herself around her waist as she began softly crying again. "I know that no one expects me to prove it, but I need to prove it for myself! But I just can't beat him! I just can't seem to beat one of those bastards that are keeping Vert captive! And just now knowing that she's captive and helpless makes its worse!"

"I know."

"I just, I feel so useless! I do all I can to help but I just can't do this one thing! I just can't prove it to myself! Why am I so worthless!?" Louise sobbed onto 5pb's lap.

"You're not useless. All of Leanbox Loves and is happy for having a CPU Candidate that works so hard for them.

"But I just, . I just can't . . . ugh. . . . I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry for being so hard on myself! I'm sorry for being such a handful! Please don't hate me for being such a bother Lyrica!"

"You're not a bother, and I would never hate you, as you're my best friend." 5pb said with a smile at the name Louise called her. Lyrica, her real name. 5pb was just a stage name, but she had become so well-known almost no one knew her by her real name. Chika, Cave, Louise and her cousin were the ones who really knew it, and Louise didn't call her it often. But it made her smile a bit anyways.

"Lyrica? What kind of name is that?"

"Ram, don't make fun of people's names. Mina will get angry at us."

5pb looked up at the sudden inclusion of new voices and found the other CPU candidates and their two guardians standing at the door to Louise's room. The two youngest ones didn't seem like anything was wrong, but as soon as she had looked at Nepgear and Uni, the pair shirked back a bit nervously, realizing they interrupted something they shouldn't have.

"Um, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to intrude, but we were told to come up and we heard noise so . . . I'm Sorry!" Nepgear exclaimed as she bowed through the doorway, almost hitting Roms head with her own.

"Why are you here?" Louise asked without lifting her head from 5pb's lap, though she did turn her head a bit to look at them, and then turned it back.

"I wanted to apologize," Nepgear began; making Louise turned her head from 5pb's lap and look toward her. "It was to help you, but we got in the way earlier. Also, I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to be friends with us, and to come with us to save our sisters!"

Louise let out a groan and turned away back into 5pb's lap. "Ugh, I'm not calm enough to deal with this crap!"

"If you're complaining then you are," 5pb said simply before she patted Louise's head a couple times. "Can I have my lap and stomach back please?"

Louise immediacy leapt up off of 5pb's lap and sat down beside her on the edge of the bed, looking down at her own lap with her face red with embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," 5pb said with a smile as she looked to the other candidates. "Are you going to talk to them?"

After a few seconds of silence Louise nodded and looked up at the others, wiping her wyes with her hands. "If you've already killed one of them, why do you need my help when I can't even kill the one I need to?" Louise said in a self-depreciating tone.

"We beat Trick as a team; we didn't take him out together. We're stronger when we fight together as friends! So I'm sure if we worked together we'd Beat Judge!" Nepgear stated, getting energetic nods of agreement from both Ram and Rom.

"Judge?" Louise asked in confusion.

"The one you were fighting, that's his name, apparently," Uni explained.

"Y-yes. I fought him once before and lost," Nepgear admitted and added at the same time.

"And you think you could beat him?" Louise asked honestly as she wiped her eyes again.

"Not one on one. But if we all work together we can beat him and save our sisters!" Nepgear stated, now nearly gleaming with hopes and dreams.

" . . . . But, I need to-" Louise stopped as 5pb grabbed her shoulder and pulled her against her own.

"You need to stop thinking of doing everything alone. Me, Chika and Cave have always been around to help, and their wanting to help too."

"I'm sorry, for being such a handful," Louise muttered against 5pb's shoulder.

"Its fine, friend's help each other, and you've helped me a lot with my shyness already."

Louise nodded. "I need to be the one to kill him, alright?" Louise asked as he looked at Nepgear and Uni.

"Haa? why?" Uni immediately responded.

"Because. . . I need to prove it."

"Prove what? IF asked.

" . . . . That I'm worthy of Being Verts Sister. That I'm worthy of Being Leanbox's Candidate. . . . That I'm worthy of having such a loving family and good friends!" Louise said, verging toward crying again as she leaned on 5pb's shoulder.

"Why would you need to prove what you already are?" Compa asked in confusion, Rom and Ram's faces saying the same.

"I agree, do you not think your strong enough to be noticed . . . or something," Uni asked quietly.

"Um, that's. . . I mean . . ." Louise struggled to speak until 5pb pushed her off her shoulder, got up, walked around to Louise's other side and sat down so that Louise was closer to the door and the others.

"Why don't you tell them?"

"B-But that's. . . . They won't believe me, I mean, Chika barely belied me at first and-"

"Their Candidates too right? And if they want to save Lady Vert and the other CPu's, they can't be that bad, right? You just have to give them a chance, just like you gave me and Cave a chance when you told us."

Louise slowly nodded and then looked at the other who were still standing just in and around the doorway. "Um, please come in. . . You'll want to be sitting."

The party came into the room and as they did Both Louise and 5pb passed them pillows off the head of Louise's bed. Once all of them were sitting, Louise began shifting uncomfortably. "Um, I guess the best way to start would be from the beginning huh?"

"It would," 5pb said as the others now on cushions on the floor all looked confused.

Louise took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then did so two more times before she seemed calm and began speaking. "I've lived another life. I was the daughter of a noble in a different world that had magic, but it was not the best life. Only one person in my family cared for me, and I had only one friend who I could barely ever see and could not act like friends to them in public."

"Huh? You think that even makes a bit of sense?" Uni exclaimed, only for IF to hold her hand up.

"Let her finish, then we decide."

"Thank you," Louise said to IF, who nodded at the thanks. "Nobles in that world could all use magic, and only nobles could, but even as a noble myself I could not, so when I was supposed to summon a . . . magical pet would be the best description, I summoned a lizard. But it was long dead, and I was marked as a failure in front of the whole class of people who mocked and hated me. That night I left the academy and went into the forest, kicking and insulting myself as I went. I don't know if it was to run away or . . . . do something more radical, but eventually I realised I had gotten lost. That was when I was beset upon by wolves."

"What is that?" Rom asked quietly, almost sounding nervous or afraid. or was it sad?

"Wolves," Louise shivered as her eyes dilated slightly and her hands began shivering until 5pb out a hand on her shoulder. "Fenrir's, only small, and they travel in packs. They attacked me, ate me alive, and killed me. My last moments were filled with regret, self-loathing, misery and pain. The next thing I knew I had woken up here, with Chika and Vert outside the room. I had been Reborn into this life."

"So your saying you have near perfect memories of a past life basically," IF stated.

Louise nodded.

"okay, I think I understand. I'd need some kind of proof to believe it, but how does that relate to needing to prove something?"

Louise swallowed hard and slowly let out a breath. "That life was terrible. I always tried my hardest, and all I got was mockery for it. But then, now I guess, I have two elder sisters who love me, and friends who care for me. I'm Leanbox's CPU candidate and the people like me, but it feels wrong at times. They love me because of who I am, the people like me just because I'm the candidate, when it feels like I've done nothing to deserve it!"

"But, you have done lots right?" Nepgear asked, her voice worried.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Nepgear. We've been in the city. It's safer than other cities, and ASIC has almost no presence. I hate to admit it, but none of us did so much to stop them that they actually moved to public violence after all!" Uni stated.

"Those laws you've put in place are intelligent, and the programs and systems to help game developers thrive helps your economy too." IF added.

"Yeah, there's lots of good here!" Compa finished with a smile.

"I know that!" Louise nearly yelled, but was just shy of it. "I know that. I know everything I've done. Chika and 5pb, and Even Cave tell me on a regular basis of all the good I'm doing. But it doesn't feel right! Vert is still gone, ASIC is still here, and I can't' get rid of them! I'm Leanbox's CPU candidate and I can't even get rid of a danger to Leanbox, I can't even do what I'm supposed to do! . . . . . . . . That's why; I have to beat them, at least one of them! I have to prove to myself that I'm worthy, that I'm not just here to be dragged along. I have to prove that all of my work has meaning So that I'm worthy of being Vert and Chika's Sister, so that I'm worthy of being Leanbox's CPU Candidate!"

Everyone was quiet for many moments before IF let out a low sigh. "Alright, so that's what you say, not to be rude, but can you prove it?"

Louise nodded and got up off the bed, walked over to the desk and took a closed notepad off the desks corner. Then she walked back over and sat on the bed, tossing the notebook to IF who caught it perfectly.

IF flipped the notepad open and began looking it over, every second her face contorting in both confusion and interest. "This . . . what is this? It looks like magic theory from a game, but what is the language? Is it in a cipher?" She asked after a minute of looking through it.

Louise shook her head. "Its magic notes I took down from memory of my time learning in my other life. I Started writing them down in that worlds language, so I continued to see if I could. I still have perfect memory of its language and writing. That notebook is proof."

"Has anyone ever done a study of the writing itself? To figure out what means what?"

"Leanbox;' guild has. Cave told me a while back that they are trying to get it widespread in the guild for use as a secret guild agent only language for special missions notetaking and similar things," 5pb answered with a small smile.

"I could see that working. these are clearly a language, but their like runes from a game, and I can't tell which is what apart from their being the consistency needed to be a language," IF admitted as she flipped through the notebook again before tossing it onto the bed beside Louise. "Well, I'll believe you then.

"Haaaaa?" Uni exclaimed in disbelief. "How can you believe such a thing?!"

"The proof was right there, trust me, that was a real language, but I've never seen it, or anything like it, before."

"Iffy like to memorize random game languages in her spare time to help her name skills!" Compa suddenly chimed, making IF gape at her in embarrassment.

"So the reason you were shaking while fighting those Fenrir yesterday was . . . because they reminded you of those wolves that killed you?"

Louise nodded. "Death trauma basically, y-yes. I'm surprised you noticed. Most don't. . . . Thankfully."

"Well, your armour looked really cool, like some kind of robot almost, so I was paying a lot of attention to it," Nepgear admitted while tapping her two index fingers together while averting her eyes. After a few seconds she stopped and looked directly at Louise. "I believe you!"

Louise seemed to relax a little. "Th-thank you. And sorry for blaming you."

"Wait, you believe that Nepgear?" Uni asked.

"Yes. I Don't' think she's been lying, and when her body was shaking, I don't think you can fake that convincingly. I want to trust her!"

"I think, I believe her," Rom said softly.

"But she sounds crazy!" Ram countered loudly.

"But, she looked sad while telling us . . . and, she's tying really hard . . . harder than we we're, and she's really strong," Rom said as seriously as her voice could manage. "If she can help us Save Blanc, I want to trust her and be friends!"

"That . . . well. . . .I . . . ugh! Fine, I guess we can trust her." Ram gave up, getting a loving hug from Rom in turn.

All eyes turned to Uni, who simply let out a sigh. "I'm not going to believe a story like that unless I see some serious proof, and not just a well-made up language. . . . . But I guess I can trust you, to save my sister. Don't get it wrong though, I'm doing it for me, not you!"

Louise looked away from Uni, "Well, it's not I'll need your help against Judge either, but I guess I can take it to make you feel better, as long as I get to kill him."

"Tsunderes," IF Muttered to Compa who giggled, getting strange looks from Rom and Ram.

"So we're all set then Right? Ready to save our sisters as Friends!" Nepgear exclaimed happily.

"I- I guess. . . . What is the plan then if you have one?" Louise asked nervously.

"Well, um, Histoire just told me to get the mascot discs because they would be needed to rescue our sisters, so I guess I need to go ask her whats next."

"Histoire is Planeptunes Oracle?"

"Yes, she's a tiny little thing, but she's really good at nagging people to work!" Nepgear explained, earning a confused look from Louise and 5pb.

"Um, okay. I should clean myself up, and then we can leave if you want to go now?" Louise said as she stood up and looked at 5pb, "Um, can I ask you to-"

"I'm Coming with you," 5pb stated instantly.

"But it will-"

"No but's, no arguments. I'm coming with you. My Songs will be able to help, and it can help my introversion even more," 5pb stated firmly. "That and I really want to meet the other CPU's too!"

"Well, looks like we have two more instead of just one then," IF said happily as she stood up. "Let's head down and talk with Chika so these two can gather what they need and clean themselves up. Then we can leave for Planeptune when everyone's ready, sound good Nepgear?"

"Y-yes! We'll talk to Histoire, and save our sisters!"

 **Authors note!**

 **Alright now we're getting somewhere! And in case some people were wondering about it, heres some technical info!**

 **Nep party average level : 51-55**

 **Louise level 59**

 **5pb Level : 49**

 **Louise / 5pb Lily rank : B**


	10. Chapter 10

The Gameindustri graveyard, Louise had decided, was an utter hellscape of a place. Piles of machinery, game parts, packaging and dirt littered the landscape creating large mountains of compacted rubbish. Valleys ran between them filled with sparking equipment and broken technology, forming waves of rabid mechanical madness. Worse still was that the piles of decrepit machinery and combusting packaging made the air acrid, and filled the sky with smoke that darkened the area.

Hellscape didn't even really begin to explain the graveyard; it was the epitome of death and despair in Gameindustri!

"This place is terrible," 5b said nervously as the whole group walked through a low valley that was low in the number of monsters skulking about.

"Yeah, it's bad here," Ram agreed as Uni and Nepgear nodded as well.

"Yeah, but that's how this place is. It's where old systems and refuse end up. "Luckily it doesn't change much, and I recognize this path," IF stated with a shiver.

"Yep Yep, this is the way we came to save everyone, and got Ge-Ge out!" Compa exclaimed far happier than one would expect considering the environment they were in.

"So at the end of this . . . valley is where our sisters are?" Louise asked carefully. She was feeling odd. Her body was hot with adrenaline and cold with fear. It had been years since Vert had disappeared, since she had seen her. What would she say? What would she do? She wasn't sure what would happen and the worry was eating at the back of her mind.

"Yep Yep!" Compa replied in her usual chipper tone.

"Ooh, I'm getting nervous, what if this doesn't work? What if we don't have enough Sharicite!?" Nepgear mumbled in worry.

The Sharicite she mentioned had been given to them by Histroire, who upon meeting her Louise had decided that is had gotten any smaller she'd be invisible, and had told them of the plan. Run into the graveyard, get their sisters, then get out. Prolonged fights would lower their chances, and Histoire had said she'd get them all as close to their sisters location as possible. Admittedly though, Louise had similar worries as Nepgear did, on top of her own. The Sharicite was a good size, and they were apparently close, but Louise doubted that ASIC would allow them to get away so easily, especially as when talking to Nepgear, CFW judge was also named the graveyard guardian. It made Louise tremble with a little bit of excitement. She'd avoid combat if she could to save Vert, but if Judge got in her way, she'd finish the job she started if at all possible!

"There, is that it?" Uni suddenly called out as they neared the end of the valley were it spread out into what looked like a giant open area, surround on all side by pieces of junk and refuse.

The answer came a second later as they entered the area. On a ledge above them, before a massive wall of sparking wires and glowing dark energy, were their sisters. Vert, Neptune, Noire and Blanc, all of them hung from massive cables that glowed and pulsed as a faint and disturbing screen surrounded them.

"Sister," Nepgear and Uni muttered in tandem, while Rom and Ram simply looked at their own sister, small tears forming in their eyes over how much pain she looked to be in.

They all simply stood there for a moment. The girls staring at the sisters they had not seen in so long, IF and Compa looking at the CPU's lamenting their past failure in releasing them from their torment, and 5pb looking on in shock and awe at their battered but still beautiful forms. The five candidates all took a simultaneous step toward their sisters, and in that second the situation changed.

An Axe slammed down into the ground ahead of them, sending debris and dust up into their faces as CFW Judge floated down in front of them, staring down at them as a giant would an ant. **"So, we meet again you dammed bitches!"**

"Oh goodness!" Nepgear exclaimed in surprise at Judge's sudden appearance.

"Should've known you'd be skulking about!" IF declared as almost everyone pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for combat. Until Louise held a lance horizontally in front of everyone.

"Nepgear, I think we should split up," Louise said coolly.

"What!?" Uni exclaimed in shock. "Why, we've got the Discs to boost us, we can win this!"

"I know. He's wounded, and there are more of us, but we haven't had much of a chance to fight together before. We're more liable to get in one another's ways if all of us fight at once." Louise stated darkly as he glared at Judge, who seemed to smile at their argument.

"B-but we need to fight together and save our sisters!" Nepgear pressed, until IF placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Nepgear, she makes a good point, if we split up then one group can fight, while the other group gets the CPU's free and escorts them out. You were weak when we got you out, so they will be as well."

Neapgear glanced to Uni who looked in thought for a second before nodding. "Your right, our sister's rescue comes first!"

"God, then I'll volunteer to hold this bastard at bay!" Louise said with a hint of joy in her angry tone as she began slowly walking forward.

"I'll help!" 5pb quickly said as she hefted her guitar nervously.

"Alright, I guess I'll help too, you'll need some ranged punch," Uni said as she took a step forward and looked back at Nepgear. "We'll keep him off you, so get our sisters out of here!"

"Right!" Nepgear exclaimed as she, IF, Compa, Ram and Rom all ran off toward their sisters.

Within seconds the sounds of frenetic combat raged out from behind them, making IF glance back to see Louise dueling Judge, while 5pb was supporting with music, and Uni taking pots shots at him with her rifle from any possible angle. The three of them seemed to be focusing more on harassing him, and it seemed to be working fantastically well. Turning back ahead of them Rom and Ram were looking at Blance with worried expressions, while Nepgear pulled out the Sharicite that Histroire had given her.

"Um, what do I do?" Nepger asked, clearly embarrassed with not knowing what to do.

"Hold it up so its shine touches them!" IF declared as she heard a roar and a crash from behind her, as well as noticed a pair of flashes and heard Uni and Louise's' voices as they attacked in CPU form.

"R-right!" Nepgear stuttered as she raised the sharicite above her head. It began glowing almost immediately, and the brighter it glowed, the more the bodies of the CPU's seemed to regain color, and the thinner the cables holding them became. Finally, the cables all snapped at once, and the CPU's no longer held by them, fell toward the ground.

"Crap, catch them!" IF called out as she moved below, followed by Compa, Rom and Ram. Rom and Ram worked as one and caught their sister, albeit just barely, while Compa caught Noire, and IF caught Vert.

Neptune landed on her face on the ground, shocking her awake in an instant, despite her drained state.

"Aah, owie, who the heck turned the lights on so hard?! you can't' do that to the main Protag!" Neptune moaned as she sat up and rubbed her head with a smirk. "At least I didn't get embedded in the ground this time though!"

"Ah, Neptune, I'm so sorry I didn't make it in time!" Nepgear cried out as she crouched down beside her sister. "Are you okay?"

"Yep I'm right like Jelly Nep Junior!" Neptune exclaimed loudly, her noise being enough to stir the other CPU's to semi consciousness.

"Ugh, shut up," Blanc groaned limply, causing Roma and Ram to both start speaking at once.

"Ugh, what?" Noire groaned at the noise, while Vert simply opened her eyes and looked up at IF and smiled.

"Oh, IF?"

"um, hello Lady Vert, can you walk?" If replied awkwardly as Nepgear helped Neptune up Rom and Ram doing the same to Blanc after she had almost roared to quit them down.

"Um, yes, I think so," Vert said as she wobbled a bit, just as the blast from an explosion sent waves of dust all over them. "Hey Vert, is that your sister you had told us about?" Noire asked carefully as Compa was helping her stand up.

Vert looked over to the nearby combat, making her eyes grow wide in surprise. There were three girls fighting CFW Judge, one of the ones who had helped imprison them. One was Clearly 5pb, Leanbox;s Premier idol, while the other looked to be likely Noire's sister. The third however was a heavily armoured woman in dark green armour that covered her whole body, wielding a pair of thin but sharp lances. It was her sister, it was Louise, and she had mastered her HDD! "Yes, yes it is," She said proudly as she almost fell over, weak with nearly impossible amounts of fatigue.

"Uni's there too . . . they fight pretty well," Noire muttered with heavy breaths.

"Yeah they do, but shouldn't we help them? Or not, I'm feeling pretty beat myself!" Neptune stated happily.

"Agreed, Lets move!" If stated as she pointed toward the valet they had come from. "if we can get there, Histoire can transport us back!"

"R-right!" Nepgear affirmed strongly as he helped her sister move.

 **"You think I'd let you!?"** Judge cried as he suddenly dashed toward the weakened CPU's, axe high in the air before he dropped it down at them faster than they could react.

"Fish biscuits!" Neptune cried out in worry, expecting the attack to strike them all and send them flying.

It never arrived, and instead of it came the sound of steel grating on steel as Green Sister stood her ground before them, blocking the axe blades with both of her lances crossed in front of her.

"If you think we'll let you take our sisters from us again-"

"Then you are sorely mistaken!" Black sister stated, finishing Green sisters words as she fired her beam rifle at Judge, the beam striking the back of one hand, and coming out the other side, breaking a section off the axes shaft.

 **"You bitches!"** Judge groaned in pain as he tried to swing the axe away from Green sister toward Black, only to find that she had locked her lances around the blade, pinning the axe beside her and opening his back to attack. Black sister took the chance and smiled.

"EX Multi Blaster!" She cried as she let loose a barrage of thick powerful beams into Judge's back, damaging, and utterly shattering one of his wings.

"Uni, Louise, 5pb, Pull back now that he's hurt!" IF called out impatiently.

The three of them turned to see IF and the rest heading into the valley and knew they had won. They just needed to escape. Black sister flew straight toward the valley, firing shots back at Jude as they went, while Green sister flew over and picked 5pb up while heading to the same place.

As soon as they were almost on top of them, IF pulled out her phone and yelled into it. "Histoire, now!"

A flash of light ripped from the space around them, and in that second they were all gone, leaving Judge to swear at the trash all around him in a fit of rage.

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"Blanc Wake up!"

"You have to wake up, Blanc!"

Rom and Ram said one after another as they shook their sister's form as it lay on the floor of Planeptunes Basilicom.

They had teleported back to the Basilicom perfectly and without trouble, but within seconds of being safe, all the CPU's, Neptune included fell to the ground, overcome with exhaustion and stress.

"It is just exhaustion, combined with a severe lack of shares and being disconnected from their power. They need rest," Histoire said immediately as she flew over to the group, some of whom looked more tired than others, while others simply looked relived.

"We- we did it . . . we saved our sisters, we did it!" Nepgear suddenly exclaimed, suddenly full of life as a massive smile covered her face. S Second later she turned and hugged the closest person to her, that person being Uni, so strongly that she almost lifted her off the ground.

"Ah, Nepgear, let go!" Uni complained as Ram and Rom looked on, unsure what to do but grinning from the scene before them.

"Calm down this instant!" Histoire nearly screeched, her small size allowing nothing else. "I cannot bring the CPU's to the rest room that has been prepared for them myself, please carry them there so they can rest properly!"

"Right, sorry Lady Histoire," IF said as every helped carry the unconscious, but already healthier looking CPU's deeper onto the basilicom where there was indeed a room that was prepared for them. It looked vaguely like a medical ward, but the beds were far comfier looking. It took a few minutes to set them on the beds and help Histoire and Compa hook up some simple sensors to each of the women, but as soon as that was done Histoire shooed everyone but Compa out of the room and into the main hall of Planeptunes Basilicom.

She instantly spoke up before anyone could complain. "I'm sorry that you cannot greet your sisters, but they are all very weak and need rest. Beside that I'd like to thank all of you. You did extremely well in saving them from ASIC's clutches and getting out of the graveyard. This will set ASIC back and allow all of Gamindustri to fight back properly!"

"Well, it's not like we would have failed," Uni said passively.

"Yeah, there no way we would lose!" Ram exclaimed.

"Uh-hu," Rom agreed with a nod.

"Still, I'll just happy that we got them back," Nepgear admitted, seeming very exhausted all of a sudden even as she smiled. "Still, I can't wait till their strong enough to be up. It's been so long since I just talked with my sister!

"Yeah, "Uni nodded, seeming to have her thoughts on something else as she looked around. "Um, where did Louise and 5pb go?"

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"So, why are you out here?" 5pb asked as she stepped onto a lower balcony of Planeptune's Basilicom tower.

Louise was sitting down against the corner of the balcony, her legs up against her chest and her head down with her eyes peeking over her knees between the railings bars, down at the city below. She only let out a short hum acknowledging 5pb's presence.

"You can tell me you know," 5pb pressed as she sat down beside Louise. "Is it that you didn't beat Judge?"

Louise shook hr head, her eyes looking on the verge of tearing up. "No, I'm just . . . worried."

"About?"

"Vert."

"We've saved everyone, you saved her, so what are you actually worried about?"

"Vert."

"Louise that's-"

"It's been two years," Louise stated simply, as if that explained everything. "I mean, two years, I was barely here for a few months before she left to go to the graveyard. I just, I'm worried that she won't remember me, won't recognize me, won't care for what I've done while she's been gone!"

"Lady Vert wouldn't forget you," 5pb said softly.

"I know that!" Louise napped back, her voice tinged with sorrow. "I know that, but I can't help but worry about it! My old family, only two people cared about me, but now I've got You, Chika, Vert, Cave, and even the others . . . Neptune, Uni, Rom, Ram, Compa, IF, they all haven't known me very long, but their so nice too. I have so many people that care about me, so the thought that something could have happened, that maybe Vert has somehow forgotten me while she was imprisoned. . . . . . It's eating me up and I know it's wrong but I cannot help it!"

5pb looked at Louie, who now looked like she was sobbing without actually doing so and smiled as she leaned against her. "So its nerves then, right? You're nervous about seeing her again after so long, and so nervous about what could happen you keep thinking about all the bad things. How about thinking instead on what you'll say to her?"

"What I'll . . . Say to her?"

"Yes, you'll have to say something right? Or are you expecting her to say everything when you've wanted to see her for so long?"

Louise looked at 5pb for a moment and then nodded. "You're right. . . I can't let her see me like this, at least not right away. . . I can't promise I won't break down when talk to her, from happiness I mean," Louise stated, making 5pb smile at her. "How did you . . ."

"I used to have those same kinds of feelings when I was first starting out as an idol," 5pb admitted. "Will they like me, how will they react to my looks or clothing, what if I forget my lyrics. All those bad thoughts that can pop up at the worst times. I worked past them by instead tying to focus on the good, and what I knew for certain was going to happen. I would tell myself that before worrying about it, I was going to go out there and sing and let my feelings come out in my song!"

"And you stopped having those negative thoughts?" Louise asked hopefully, having a long history with such thought. Though admittedly she had supressed and kept them within in her previous life.

"No," 5pb said with a small, almost sad smile. "I still have them, but I push them out of my mind. My producer once told me that being happy and looking forward to the good is more important. I like to agree, and it helps a lot."

"I guess . . . it's just, well, a little hard sometimes for me. What with my past."

"That past is gone though right? So don't let it hold you back. Besides, I don't think Lady Vert will want to see you sad before you even welcome her back right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Louise admitted as she dragged an arm across her face, wiping away her tears. "Everyone's probably looking for us, huh?"

"Probably. I came looking for you as soon as I noticed you went off, but it took me a while to find you. This place is so tall, and the hallways are different than Leanbox's Basilicom. It's so easy to get lost."

". . . Alright, we should head back down then huh?" Louise said as she rubbed hr eyes and stood up. Just in time to be seen as Rom popped her head out into the balcony!

"Oh, I found them! She called quietly as she looked back at 5pb and Louise. "Are you hiding?"

"N-no. Just getting some fresh air," Louise answered quickly as 5pb stood up.

"Oh. Miss Nepgear is saying we can all stay the night, and suggested e all wait in her living room and play games until our sister's wake up! Miss Histoire said we earned it, and she would tell us when they begin to wake up!"

"Kind of like a party in celebration of us saving them then!" 5pb said with a smile, getting a nod of agreement from Rom.

"Everyone's waiting on us then right?" Louise asked, getting another nod from Rom. "Can you lead us to everyone else then? I think we might have gotten lost."

Rom nodded with a happy smile. "Okay, this way, I think!"

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It was after almost seven hours of gaming, late into the night, when Histoire came and interrupted them with the news they wanted to hear. Their sisters were stirring awake! An avalanche would have made less noise as all the sisters immediately followed Histoire back down to the room where their sisters were resting. As they arrived none of them had woken up, but looked like they would, and all of them gathered around their own sisters, waiting to greet them as soon as possible.

"Oh, I'm so nervous, I know my sister was awake a bit longer than the others, but still," Nepgear said worryingly as she stood by her sisters bed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Nep –Nep will be fine!" Compa said as she stood nearby, helping Histoire look over the medical data on a computer.

"Yeah nep junior, don't worry!" Neptune said energetically as she suddenly sat up in her bed and stretched her arms above her head. To say everyone in the room was surprised at how quickly she got was an understatement.

"Neptune!" Nepgear exclaimed as she leaned over and hugged her sister in an instant, knocking Neptune back down onto the bed with a gasp of surprise.

Their budding conversation was instantly eclipsed however as Blanc woke up, and both ram and Rom nearly screamed out their happiness.

Both Uni and Louise looked at the happiness around them, and then looked to their sisters; both of whom groggily opened their eyes at the same time.

"Louise?" Vert asked quietly as she looked up at Louise while Uni silently stared at Noire.

Louise instantly began tearing up, much to the nearby IF's surprise. "Y-Yes, Yes it's me Vert! I'm- I'm so happy you're safe!" She finally said as she dropped onto the bed, hugging her sister as tightly as she could; now loudly sobbing with happiness.

"Goodness, I'm fine now. I'm safe," Vert said with a smile as she wrapped her hands around Louise and held her close. "We're all safe, and we have all of you to thank!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors note: slight additions to the rule of steel, and yes I know what the rule of steel is, I'm altering it, end of story.**

 **This chapter also marks the point where I'm throwing canon out the window. So now the real fun starts to begin!**

"I need you all to Go and gather shares."

Everyone froze, the action in the Planeptune Baslicom living room stopping in an instant at Histoires words. It was the morning after the CPU's had awoken, and everyone, CPU's and Candidates, were in the living room eating a breakfast that Nepgear, Uni and Louise had prepared. There had been a lot of muttered swearing by both Uni and Louise, but eventually the breakfast came, and while not equal to a restaurants fare, the CPU's all enjoyed it. It was their first taste of food in two years after all, and their sisters had made it.

Ram was the first to speak up. "But we just got to see Blanc!"

"Mhmm," Rom agreed with a nod, the both of them hugging Blancs sides.

"Be that as it may all of the CPU's are still very weak, they need shares to get better, and while Neptune and Vert are slightly better, they are still weak as well. You candidates however, are mostly fine even with the lack of Shares, so we need you to get more shares back from ASIC so that your sisters can get better," Histoire explained calmly

"And will you be doing while we're doing all the work?" Louise almost hissed, causing Blanc and Noire to look at her in shock.

"Louise!?" Nepgear said, voicing their surprise.

Louise turned to Nepgear, a scowl covering her face as she sat on the floor beneath Vert. "You told me and 5pb what you all did before we met, and I thought about it, but now I know. You, us, we've done all the work, while she just kept sending you off on whatever she came up with! All she did was send us to the graveyard, a place we could have found easily by flying if we wanted to!"

"And what you have me do then, hm?" Histoire asked angrily.

"Maybe do something besides giving orders!" Louise snapped back as she stood up and glared at Histoire, her eyes filled with a hate that made Histoire, and everyone that saw them, visibly flinch. "I've seen Chika fight, and while not as strong as Vert, she was still strong. If all you do is bark orders like a yapping tiny puppy then it's clear to me that you cannot even defend yourself!"

"Hey, you can't say that to Histy!" Neptune spoke up as she got up off a couch from beside Nepgear.

"Watch me! It's not like you can do anything to stop me!" Louise said grimly as she glared at Neptune. "I've heard stories about you, never doing your job or caring about running your lands, I guess that's why your little pixie likes snapping orders at people. If you want it safe, maybe you should put her in a hamster ball!"

"Louise! That is enough," Vert suddenly spoke up. "Histoire is an Oracle and should be respected as such."

Louise turned around to Vert, confusion filling her eyes. "Why?! She hasn't done anything! She just gave orders to IF and Compa, Orders to Nepgear, then Uni and Rom and Ram, and acts like she's the boss here when you and the other CPU's are! An Oracle is supposed help the CPU run their country and provide suggestions and help, not order them around like a glorified Reagent commanding nobles!" Louise shrieked, surprising everyone in the room.

"Louise," Vert began, speaking calmly and softly. "I'm still very weak, but I can tell you've done a lot to keep Leanbox safe, can I ask you to continue? If you can take shares away from ASIC, it would help both Leanbox and myself greatly. Okay?"

Louise's lip quivered. "You're just taking orders from her . . . . . fine, if I kill ASIC's leaders it will have the same effect!" Louise stated as she turned and began walking away.

"Louise no! They are very strong!" Vert pressed as she stood up, wobbling a bit as she did.

"Nepgear and them already Killed Trick, and I've fought Judge tooth and nail repeatedly! He's broken and battered, so I'll finish him off myself so you can get better!" Louise yelled as she ran out of the living room to the balcony and jumped over its railing. She transformed into her HDD in that same moment, and pushing her feet against the railing, blasted off, sending a wave of air and noise into the living room.

No one said anything for a while, until 5pb stood up from her seat to the side of Vert. "I'm sorry, Lady Vert, I should have said something!"

Vert shook her head. "No, its fine." she responded as she looked at 5pb, then at Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram. "I'm sorry, but I'm worried she's going to hurt herself if she takes on CFW Judge in that state, could you girls please go talk to her?"

"Of course, she's our friend now after all!" Nepgear said instantly as she, Uni, Ram and Rom all stood up.

"Um, I can't fly," 5pb deadpanned sadly, knowing where her words will lead.

"Don't worry, we'll carry you!" Ram exclaimed as she and Rom ushered 5pb toward the balcony with Uni and Nepgear.

"Oh dear, please don't drop me," 5pb begged as the small group left, leaving the CPU's, IF, Compa and Histoire alone in the living room.

After a few minutes of silence Blanc looked at Vert, a very angry look covering her face. "Hey Thunder-tits, I don't think that matches the way you describe your dear sister to us!"

"I have to agree, she seemed more angry and volatile than cute and adorable," Noire added.

"Yeah I agree, she insulted Histy at the drop of a plate!" Neptune exclaimed, earning a sigh from IF.

"That's drop of a hat, Neptune,"

"Oh, ehehe."

"She is cute and adorable; she's my sister after all!" Vert said indignantly, before letting out a sigh. "Admittedly, she might have a small bit of a temper, and can jump the worst assumptions."

"I think that is a little more than just a temper, she didn't hold her punches at all against Neptune or Histoire, and what was with that strange comparison she used?" Noire asked.

"Oh, is that, huh?" If mused quietly, getting a strange look from Neptune as Vert let out another sigh.

"The other girls know then IF?"

"They do, though I don't think Uni quiet believes it," IF replied.

"I see, thank you," Vert said as she looked to her fellow CPU's and took a deep breath. "You may have noticed Louise's speech can sometimes be a bit strange, the reason for that is that she has lived a life previously, one that was not good."

"Huh? What are you meaning?" Noire asked, clearly confused.

"You speak of alternate dimensions then, correct?" Histoire asked calmly as she floated down, just above the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"Yes, though her previous life was not one in an alternate Gameindustri, but a completely different kind of world. One of magic and fantasy without goddesses."

"Wait, Vert, you understand Histoire's Technobabble?" Neptune asked in surprise.

"Of course," Vert replied as she pushed out her ample chest and leaned back on the couch. "I made sure to understand the concept and things related to it after Louise told me everything!"

"I see, what can you tell us about it then, if I may ask?" Histoire continued, ignoring Neptune completely.

Vert nodded. "Her previous life was not a good one. In her world there were nobles, commoners and reagents, with the reagents and nobles having magic, and the commoners without. Magic was a proof of your nobility, but she had never been able to cast any, despite being the third daughter of a noble family. She was teased, picked on and hated by her peers, and her parents and one of her two sisters showed her no affection, only expecting perfection from her. She had only one friend and her sister to help her through things, but was not able to keep it all in. when she failed some sort of rite of passage, she ran into the woods that night in shame. When she became afraid and tried to go back, she was beset upon creatures called wolves, that she explained were like small Fenrir's that hunted in packs. Her last memory's before she came to be as my sister was one of them tearing into her in the middle of a dark forest."

"Fuck, that's messed up if it's true," Blanc said, looking down at the floor.

"Y-yeah. . . .Were the nobles in that world unfair or something?" "Noire asked carefully.

"From what she has told me in the past yes, some nobles used their rank to control and abuse the common people. However I believe the real situation is that she has come to prefer Gameindusri, and its culture far more, both for our freedoms and equalities among the vast majority of people."

"That would explain some of her words and actions to some extent," Histoire said with a sigh. "I believe part of it is also what has happened while you were all imprisoned however."

"Rom and Ram tried to tell me a bit of what happened, but I could use more details myself," Blanc said

"Yeah same her, what happened while we were out Histy? Besides Nep Junior and them freeing us I mean," Neptune asked next, getting a chorus of nods from the others.

"Very well, to get you up to speed-"

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"I don't see her, where could he have gone?" Uni asked as she and Nepgear flew over the areas around Planeptune, while Rom and Ram were carrying 5pb, one to each arm, just behind them.

"Well she was flying fast, she could have gone pretty-"

"There!" 5pb called out, interrupting Nepgars words.

All of them stopped a Nepgear and Uni looked around. "Where? I don't see her," Nepgear asked.

"Down by that tree in the field, surrounded by Dogoo's!" 5pb said, as she kicked her leg a bit, being unable to use her arms as Rom and Ram held them, looking rather tired.

Nepgear and Uni glanced down, and almost below them was indeed a swarm of Dogoo's, and Louise carving through them outside of her HDD.

"We should help her," Rom said meekly with a small groan.

"Well duh, but we have to put miss 5pb down first!" Ram countered, adding her own groan as her grip slipped slightly, only for her to panic and fix it.

"Yes, please! Do not drop me please!" 5pb begged as the four Candidates flew down toward the ground, just in time to see Louise decimate almost the whole swarm, the rest scattering with almost cute little yelps and goo's.

"Louise!" 5pb called as they all landed and she was able to use hr feet again, instantly running over to Louise. "Are you alright?"

"No, I am not alright!" Louise said loudly as she hefted hr spear and whipped it across the field into an overly large doggo just barely in sight, splattering it into blobs of goo. "We saved our Sisters, so why is it so impossible that we can just be with them for a while!? Instead that insect tells us to go out and do what we've already been doing!"

"Please don't call Histire names. She's our Oracle, and she's really nice most of the time, just a bit stern is all," Nepgear asked.

Louise looked at her and then looked away. " Sorry, I just . . . I just want to be with my sister, and when I get angry, it just all comes out now that I'm not caring about that damn rule of steel!"

"The what?" Uni asked as she looked around to see that literally every monster in the entire field was staying as far away from them as possible.

"The rule of steel. A Rule my old life's mother made us all follow. We were not allowed to break or go against any rules no matter what we thought of them, were never allowed to second guess the reagent or nobles higher than us, and were supposed to allow as little emotion as possible in our lives," Louise explained as she suddenly sat down on the grass, her spear reappearing in her hand then disappearing.

"But what if someone was falsely accused of something?" 5pb asked, prompting Uni to join in.

"Or what if someone of high rank told someone to kill another person for no reason?"

"By the rule of steel, if the person accusing, or ordering were higher ranked, you did it," Louise said as the other girls all sat down.

"That sounds horrible!" Nepgear exclaimed.

"It was. Under the rule I had to keep my emotions hidden. When people teased, insulted and bullied me, I did nothing, and when I would fail constantly, and be berated for it, I just bottled up my feelings," Louise said.

"That's a bad idea," Uni said off handily.

"Yeah," Louise agreed. "When I was reborn, I threw it away and haven't ever looked back. Vert and Chika are fine with me showing my emotions, but I guess I got to angry and let them slip a bit too much. . . . I should apologize."

"I doubt my sister cares much, nothing much affects her, but yeah, it'd be a good idea to apologize to Histoire I think. She can hold grudges," Nepgear said nervously, as if speaking from experience.

"Yeah . . . I don't think heading back right away would be an idea though," Louise said with a sigh.

"Yeah, she's just gonna tell us to go back out," Rom said simply.

"Well, were already out here, so why not hunt down some monsters or something?" 5pb asked.

"I have a better idea, Nepgear, how much is ASIC here in Planeptune?" Louise asked with a grin that somehow seemed out of place when she wasn't in HDD.

"Um, about the same as Lowee or Lastation I'd say," Nepgear responded. "You aren't thinking of hunting down their people are you?"

"Kind of. Why don't we hunt for their people and catch them in the act, and stop them from spreading their stuff, that way we get them gone, and help clean up the city."

"I like the sound of that," Uni said with a smile.

"Yeah!"

"Let's do it!"

Rom and Ram exclaimed, though Nepgear looked nervous. "But how? Will we just walk around and hope we find them selling their stuff in the open?"

"Oh, crap, I hadn't thought about that," Louise admitted as she hung her head down.

"Um, we might not need to," 5pb suddenly spoke up. "I get a lot of mail from fans, but I just got one from a fan in Lastation, it says he found a really shady factory that ASIC followers are going in and out of!"

"What!?" Uni exclaimed angrily as she immediately got up, seeming ready to go HDD and fly to Lastation immediately.

"That sounds bad, should we go and deal with it?" Nepgear asked, looking at Uni more than anyone else.

"Of course we should! We'll leave now and put an end to their operations!" Uni exclaimed, nealy screaming, and making Rom wince a bit

"But what about our sisters, we should tell them, right?" Ram asked, making it sound like that was the obvious thing to do.

"And we will, once were halfway there so they can't call us back!" Uni stated seriously as she went HDD and then looked at everyone. "Are you coming?"

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A Few hours later they found themselves at the factory, situated at the edge of Lastations capitol in an industrial district. There were no guards, no cameras, and all the windows were boarded shut, letting no light in or out. It looked like any old abandoned factory, expect for the fact that Uni confirmed that there were high energy readings within it.

As they entered though, they found it was far from abandoned. Massive machines and computers worked side by side, creating things on an assembly line. Floodlights and flashes from the machines and computers lit the area, and filled it with noise and racket.

"Goodness look at it all!" Npgear exclaimed as h went wide eyed, instantly prancing over to some machines and looking them over with a glint in her eyes. "I wonder how these work?"

"The machines?" Louise asked as she walked over and looked at what Nepgear was. All she saw was machine and computer, she had no idea how it worked, she just knew it did. Nepgear on the other hand seemed to be muttering and getting at different parts of the machine, as if she was figuring out exactly how it worked in mere seconds.

"Yes!" Nepgear finally said, sounding excited. "These machines are an assembly line that are creating, and programing something, probably something to make counterfeit games. It's actually pretty advanced!"

"So how do we stop it then?" Uni asked as she glanced around with her riddle in hand, surprised that no one had found them as they stood around gawking.

"Um, I'm not sure yet," Negear said, sounding sad. "Well need to see what kind of thing their making, then we can shut off and take key parts of the machine away so they won't be able to easily rebuild it."

"Why don't we just like, break it or something?" Ram asked.

"Well . . . We could, but these aren't bad machines themselves, we could repurpose them to make good things!" Nepgear tried to press as she poked her index fingers to each other.

"Hmm, I guess," Uni said as the contemplated the idea. "But if it comes to it, were blowing the place up! Let's look around."

Everyone nodded in agreement s they pushed further within, finding no resistance whatsoever until they came to a large open area with a gigantic computer at the far end, pipes connecting it to various machines nearby. In and around it, dozens of people, all in dark clothing, were grabbing piles of objects off tables and throwing them into bags. And all of them had grins on their faces that screamed illegal activity.

"Don't let them get out with a single bag!" Uni whispered carefully as she aimed her rifle at what looked to be a large screen on a wall to one side. With a pull of the trigger her shit rang out and severed the screen from the mount holding it up, dropping it to the ground where it then landed on top of two of the people, pinning them to the ground.

The Criminals who immediately tried to bolt were quickly blocked by a wall of ice, and knocked backwards into a wall, knocking the wind out of their lungs, as Rom, Ram, and Louise acted instantly.

"You won't get away with this! We'll free Gameindustri from your oppression!" one criminal screamed at the top of her lungs as Nepgear walked up to the computer and began tapping keys.

"The only oppression is ASIC," Nepgear replied quickly as she kept tapping keys, quickly understanding what the machine was doing. "This machine is making Chips that when put into machines would jailbreak them, allowing them to run anything, even if they were not meant to! If you sell these to people it will break their computers and consoles within days!"

The criminal opened her mouth to speak, looking extremely angry, but just as she did the ice blocking one exit exploded, and a massive machine of red white and blue with a golden lion motif on its chest came in, brandishing a large red and white sword.

Uni instantly tensed, while everyone else turned to it and readied themselves for battle. Then, unexpectedly, it spoke, his voice cool, and tactical, noble and proud. "Flee now, I shall hold them here!"

"But boss! We were told to not let this place fall no matter what!" one ASIC member complained as they edged toward the exit by the machine.

"Dying here will not serve anyone's happiness, so go now as I hold them here!" The machine declared as it walked toward the girls, the ASIC members escaping with nothing but their own bodies. "I am CFW Brave, and I will not allow you to get in the way of spreading happiness to Gameindustri's children. However if you leave now, I shall not harm you!" Brave stated the wings and cannons on his back lifting up slightly, as if preparing for use.

"It's happiness? why you condescending piece of-" Louise began to rage, stopping when Uni raised an arm in front of her and stepped toward brave, Rifle in hand, but held at the side pointed toward the ground.

"We need to talk," Uni said seriously, glaring right up at Brave's large and daunting form.

"Hmm, you are the young CPU I have fought once before. I apologize, but I did not get your name in the past." Brave replied in a calm and almost cordial tone.

"It's Uni, CPU Candidate of Lastation, of this nation!"

"I see. Who you are will make no difference to my words however; I cannot let you destroy this factory, so leave now!"

"I cannot do that," uni stated with a pause as she took another step toward Brave. "When we first met, I lost to you, but even then I didn't feel like you were a bad guy. Clearly I was wrong if you're protecting this place!"

"Arfoires products will bring joy to the world's children, what other reason would there be to protect this place?"

"No, these chips and products will bring no one happiness!" Uni stated seriously. "If you do not work for something, how can you feel any sort of accomplishment from it? It's the same for this, if people do not work to acquire the games they play, they cannot truly enjoy them!"

"Anyone can enjoy games regardless of how they are acquired!" Brave countered swiftly.

"Can they really? If they can just get any game they will keep jumping to new games and never complete the game they got. Is not the first game someone plays and beats a fond memory for them? Is the hope of getting a game, and beating it to show their friends and family their accomplishment not something everyone wants? If so, then how are they supposed to have that sense of accomplishment when they can just get the game without any wait, or without any challenge!?"

"And what of those children who cannot afford the games? Are you saying that if they cannot afford a game they should just do without having fun and enjoyment!?"

"Of course not, but if games are just given out for free, then no new games will ever be made! Developers and creator need the money from the sales of their games, both to survive with, and to help make their next games. Without that money they would be unable to create games, and there would never be any new games!"

"But, . . . absurd, if making the game and knowing it will bring joy is not enough for them, then they are not worthy of bringing joy to children!"

"Then who will make the new games? The world is not so perfect that people simply cannot work and do what they want, even if we'd like it that way! Creators and developers need to survive to make the games, and if they cannot sell, they make no money and no new games will be made. And if people continue to simply hack games and not buy them, the entire industry could crash!"

"That is mere speculation!"

"It is the truth! Yes it's sad when you cannot afford a game, you can save, help neighbours for money, and many other things, and if you still cannot, there are hundreds of other games, including those at arcades and game stores that people can play! Anyone can find enjoyment if they look and try hard enough, and with that difficulty and trying, they truly will come to enjoy themselves because they worked for it, not because it was just given to them!"

"That . . . may indeed be," Brave said quietly, seemingly unsure of how to respond for a few seconds. "What about those who try as hard as they can but are still unable to play he games though! Would you simply let them sit and be unable to play and find enjoyment?"

"There are ways! friends can pool their money together, they can ask for games as birthday presents, or even play them at public places like arcades! There are always ways, and everyone can do their part to make games and their enjoyment more accessible. But ASIC will destroy that! Arfoires products will destroy the industry and create as stagnant place where no new games are made, and then who will be able to enjoy themselves when every game has already been beaten and they no longer find joy from them?"

"But . . . that's . . . the children, I just-"

"Even worse, who will be able to find enjoyment in games when there are no games, and no gameindustri when ASIC destroys them both!"

"What!? What are you insinuating?!" Brave demanded, suddenly sounding terrified and angry all at once.

"Arfoire, the Diety of Sin! When it is released it will not bring joy to people. Every oracle, and every pieces of information we've found says that all of Gameindustri will be destroyed!"

"Impossible, We all swore as Criminals of the free world that we would act for the good of all!" Brave exclaimed, not believing what he was hearing.

"Trick was a creep who cared only about young girls, he didn't care about boys, or people older at all! All he wanted to do was enjoy his own desires. And Judge just wants to fight and kill people, and if he kills everyone, who would be around to find enjoyment? How could children find enjoyment when he's killing everyone they knew in games and out of them! ASIC only cares about their own selfish desires! And you are the only one that I've seen out of all of them that actually is doing this for selfless reason, to help everyone! . . . . . You're just going about it the wrong way. Sure if you succeed you'll give joy to some for a time, but it won't last, and there will only be despair afterwards!"

The room was as silent as a graveyard for many moments, the silence broken as Brave seemed to be on the verge of crying. "B-but, I just wanted . . . wanted to give everyone joy! Not being able to afford a game, is horrendous; I just wanted everyone to be happy! Have, have I made such a mistake? Would, my actions truly bring nothing but brief joy . . . . . and infinite despair and boredom?"

"Yes. If ASIC wins, that is all that will await anyone. Some few people would like it, but after a time, no one would find any joy as there would never be any new games," Uni stated solemnly.

"Then . . . How am I supposed to bring everyone joy!?" Brave wept as he fell to the ground, sword falling from his hands. "If everything I've done is for naught, then what am I supposed to do!?"

"You can make games yourself, buy them and gift them to people, make your own arcade with free use days, there are hundreds of possibilities," Uni stated calmly. "But it would have to start with leaving ASIC. All they're going to do is make your dream crumble around you, and then no one, not even you will be happy!"

"I . . . . Will need to think about this. But you have made me understand that-" Brave stopped as suddenly the whole building shook, dust shaking off of everything and filling the air.

"What the goodness is that?" Nepgear spoke up in surprise as the sound of crunches and shattering rock grew closer and closer like the steps of a great beast.

Suddenly the wall exploded, and brave moved in the way to Shield Uni from the pieces of steel and debris that fell all over. Then the sound of metal shearing metal ripped through the room, and a cry of pain echoed out in tandem with it. A second later as the dust settled, everyone could see CFW Judge floating in the hole in the wall, his axe blade lodged in Braves torso, between his head and right shoulder, nearly cutting halfway through his body.

"Wh-Why?" Brave struggled to say, sounding surmised and horrified al lat once.

"Grah, look like I missed! I was aiming for the CPU's! Those bitches keep eluding me, so I hoped to finally murder em, but then you're here wasting time talking instead of killing! Bah, I'll just kill all of you then, problem solved!"

"What about the children?"

"What?"

"The children. Your oath!"

"Pah, who cares about anyone else, I just need to kill bastards and whores and whoever else I want to!" Judge declared as he pulled up and ripped his axe out of Brave, only to swing it back around and catch the underside of his arm, severing it from his body and knocking him backwards over the candidates and into a wall with a cry of pain.

"No!" Uni roared as she lifted her rifle and began firing at Judge frantically.

Judge however seemed only angered by it and Lunged at Uni with his axe. Uni closed her eyes as she flinched, only to open them again as the sound of metal striking metal echoed in front of her, seeing Louise blocking the axe with her lance. "Check him, we'll cover you!" Louise stated as she went HDD and pushed Judge's axe aside then lunged at him, forcing him to back up as Rom, Ram, Nepgear and 5pb all did the same and joined in on attacking him.

Uni immediately turned and ran over to Brave, Climbing up the rubble and broken machinery until she was beside his head. "Brave, Are you alright?!"

"N-no. No I am not," Brave groaned out, clearly sounding in pain. "That strike, it went deep. I can feel my power leaving me."

"No! You'll be fine! Yes we were enemies, but you were fighting for the right reasons! We could have been allies, friends! You can't just die!"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to, but too much of me is damaged. That strike, it was too strong, and I. . . I. . . I'm sorry. I couldn't bring people joy and happiness. That's all I wanted, I didn't realize that . . . I'm sorry, so sorry . . . Uni."

"Don't be sorry! You'll be fine! You're a machine, or part machine at least, you can just be repaired, right? Or rebuilt or, or-"

"I'm sorry. If I go offline, my power source will go critical . . . it will likely destroy me completely, including my core processor."

"But you, that's it! Where is it? Where is your core located! Nepgear, I need your help!" Uni called out frantically.

"What? It's in my head and body, in two separate but connected pieces. But that doesn't matter. Just, promise me, you'll make them happy, please? It will make my death worth it, make my mistakes worth it."

"I promise, but beyond that, I promise you'll have a hand in it too!" Uni declared as Nepgear landed beside her, looking worried and confused. "Nepgear, you know a lot about machines right? His core, we need to get it out, then we can, do something so he doesn't die from that Betrayal." Uni nearly shrieked as Braves glowing eyes began to dim.

"What? . . . Oh I see. um, where are they loca-"

"His head and torso!" Uni said frantically, interrupting Nepgear as the sound of combat echoed nearby. She didn't even look at the noise, and instead simply looked at Brave, who now seemed unresponsive.

"Right, um, we need cable, we need to power his body so we can take the core out I think, otherwise things could explode." Nepgar explained as she flew over to a pile of machines and parts and began pulling cable out in rolls. The pair of them quickly gathered as much as they could and came back, Braves eyes almost out. "Um, we need to open his chest somehow and connect these to the computers and machines so he gets some power, um . . ." Nepgear said as she glanced at his body then decided to throw caution out the window. Uni looked frantic and on the verge of tears, she was not about to let her friend suffer, so she took her sword our and stabbed it into the side of Braves chest and began prying.

"What are you doing Nepgear!?" Uni cried out in horror, just before there was a pop and the entire frontal plate, lion motif included, popped right off of Brave's torso, revealing the circuitry and motors within.

"That. Um, here, here and here." Nepgear muttered as she began connecting cables to the area that had not been sliced in half by Judges Axe. Most of Braves insides were sparking and smoking now, and what appeared to be some sort of power cell was beginning to glow from barely contained heat. Right in the centre of his chest was a glowing sphere the size of a fist, barely out of the way of the damage around it. "Uni, this may not work, even if we remove them," Nepgear said as she looked over the core, finding the main wire, more a cable as thick as her arm, and going up to Brave's head. "I can tell that this isn't supposed to be removed at all, it wasn't designed for it. And this is really advanced, I'm not sure what will happen, or if I'll be able to do anything. He might know nothing, remember nothing, or might not even come back even if we can find a new body or make one."

"I know that! But I have to try! He wanted to do something good, he's different than the other ASIC members, he wanted to do the right thing! I'm not going to let it end like this, not when he realized what he was doing wrong, not when his heart was in the right place, not without trying to save him!"

Nepgear looked at Uni and nodded before looking back down and very carefully disconnecting the core from the tech around it. After a few moments it was done, and she began carefully breaking and removing the plating around the neck leading to his head. Then she very carefully began taking apart his head, something that made Uni look extremely nauseous over. After a few seconds of fiddling his head was fully open, and the second core visible, with a small explosive strapped around it that appeared to be connect to the cell in his body.

Uni immediately began whispering worries and swears, but Nepear said nothing as she very carefully began removing it. It had been a while since she had worked with such advanced technology, and she had never really worked with explosives, the closest she had ever gotten was an arc welder and a plasma press after all. Luckily, she still had very stable hands, and after a moment she successfully unclipped the core and disconnected it, the light in Braves eyes, and the whir of his systems and body stopping in an instant. Only to be replaced with the sound of his power cells beginning to go critical, hissing angrily against the dusty air and sparking wiring. "There, we need to get out of here with the core; if it gets damaged I won't be able to do anything!"

"Right, We need to . . leave." Uni said as she looked p, to see a surprising scene further down the room.

Judge was losing. Badly. An arm was completely mangled and hanging by a few wires coming out of his shoulder, while most of his armour was torn to pieces and his axes head had been broken clean in half. 5pb was using her music to amplify Rom and Rams magic as they used massive blocks of ice and held Judge against the wall. In front of him and taking advantage of his pinned state, Louise was reeling on him with not her lances, but Braves own sword, swinging it in wide two handed swings. Each swing cut deep into Judges body; his thrusters, his armour, his torso, his waist, all of it. Each swing caused a shower of sparks to scream off of him along with his own screams of rage.

"We need to leave!" Nepgear called out urgently, catching the other attention.

"Good, Let him go!" Louise called out. In that moment Rom and Ram stopped controlling their magic and flew over to grab 5pb, allowing Judge battered form to break free from the wall. Louise however seemed to have been hoping for that, and had raised Braves blade up, and as Judge fell, threw it at his body. The blade pierced through him and embedded in the wall, pinning him there as Braves own body, just a dozen meters away began to glow with violent power.

Barely a minute later as the Girls all were high above the factory, an explosion ripped through it, decimating the entire building and dropping the remnants of the structure atop it, burying the devastation in a layer of debris and smoke.


	12. Chapter 12

"I think we should go look for our sisters, they've been gone an awfully long time," Blanc said seriously as he put down a cup of tea.

The four CPU's were in Neptunes living room with a cup of tea before each of them, and a plate of snacks in the centre of the table. Once Histoire had begun telling them everything that had transpired, they all agreed they would need to be comfortable, and so made themselves so. Histoires explanation however was extremely long, taking three hours to explain the basic state of Gameindustri, another three to explain how ASIC took over with them gone, another three to explain how each nations managed without them, and then a final three to explain how the Candidates had all gathered and then saved them.

The whole story made all of the CPU's smile at how their own nations had managed to keep going, both by the work of their Oracles and of their sisters, though blanc had almost entered rage mode when Histoire had told her about CFW Trick. If he was still alive she would have gone to kill him herself, her own power levels be damned!

Now however, as Blanc had stated, it was getting very late. After Louise's eruption and their sister leaving, it had been just over twelve hours and night was slowly beginning to fall. And it was obvious that Blanc was worried for her sisters.

"Oh I'm sure their fine! it's not like they'd actually go after ASICS bosses, right?" Neptune asked happily, getting a low, unamused chuckled from Vert in Response.

"Um, perhaps now would be a good time to state that, while my adorable sister may say a lot she doesn't mean, if she gets an idea in her head, she's as likely to follow through with it as she is to think up something different. Oops?"

"Well crap, your saying they might have actually gone after ASIC?" Noire asked with a sigh.

"Maybe, however the others went with her, so I'm sure thy made her see reason. 5pb went with them as well.

"I see. Still we should-" Histoire was interrupted by a sudden crashing sound that seemed to come from below them that shook the whole building.

"What was that?! Noire exclaimed.

"It sounded like it came from below," Blanc added as all but Neptune got up.

"Oh don't worry your pretty little heads ladies! It was probably Nep Junior in her Workshop!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Oh, that's a bad then," IF stated with an embarrassed look.

"Why?" Neptune asked in confusion.

"Well . . . . since Nepgear was capture too, it hasn't been used in a while so . . ."

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"Why is everything in this place trying to kill us?" Louise yelled as she and 5pb pushed a leaning tower of machine parts to their side, sending them crashing to the ground in a corner with a horrible racket.

The candidates and 5pb had gotten back to Planeptune's in record time, likely breaking every air speed regulation in the land, and had immediately gone to Nepgear's workshop at the back of the Basilicoms lower level. It was a large room, easily the size of a large gymnasium, but as soon as Neptune had switched the lights on and began turning on machinery, towers of the stuff became clear to see, and the hum of machines brought some of them crashing down, threatening to crush the Candidates.

"Sorry!" Nepgear called back as she placed Braves cores on a table that was mostly clear. "It's been so long since I've been in here, and it looks like some parts had degraded as I wasn't here taking care of them."

"Well that's great, what else is going to go wrong!? Uni growled as she came up beside Nepgear as nearby Rom and Ram pushed a smaller pile of machinery back up to where it was supposed to be, causing a wall of dust to flutter off of it and land over them.

"EW!"

"I'm all dirty now."

"Sorry, looks like I need to clean up in here," Nepgear commented with a low, embarrassed chuckle.

"You think? Ugh, that doesn't matter, what are we doing first?" Uni pressed as she stared at Braves Cores, still dimly shining, though one seemed to have a strange wisp of blackness inside of it.

"Um, I'm not sure yet," Nepgear admitted as she looked around while still talking. "We'd need to do something to make him live again, but that would take time, so . . . so we need to find a way to keep the cores unaffected by anything else. uhm. . . that's it!" She suddenly exclaimed as he ran over to a second table with some partial machinery on it.

"What?"

"We need to make a Stasis module, a small one. That way the cores are safe and won't leak anymore energy so we have time to rebuild him right!" Nepgear explained as she began running to piles of machinery and looking them over for parts. "Oh dear, were is it?"

"If you're going to need parts how are you going to find them?" Louise exclaimed as she suddenly pushed her back against a pile, holding it back from falling onto 5pb who gave a quick thanks and moved out of the way. "Shouldn't we maybe clean this place up a bit first?"

"Well, yes, but I need to make the module fast," Nepgear said as she began poking her index fingers together, looking far more interested in building than in cleaning.

"Then some of us can clean and those of us with mechanical knowledge can help you find things you need, would that work?" 5pb suggested.

"That'd work," Uni agreed with a nod. "I used to make my own guns, so I have some knowledge, I can help and I want to!"

"Guess that puts the rest of us in cleaning duty," Louise deadpanned. "I know nothing about machines aside from how to work the TV and other simple things."

"But cleaning is boring!" Ram suddenly stated, seeming against the idea of cleaning a place that wasn't her own.

"B-but Ram, we need to help Miss Uni and Miss Nepgear." Rom pushed, making Ram seem even more angry.

"I'll buy you sundaes tomorrow, the big Lastation ones with chocolate flakes and fruit syrup drizzle on them, how does that sound?" Louise suggested with a smile as she began taking apart and trying to organize some machine parts from a pile.

"W-well, I guess we can help a bit," Ram huffed as she came over and began helping, Rom smiling so that everyone but Ram could see.

As Louise, 5pb, Rom and Ram began cleaning and organizing the machines, being careful not to bury themselves in them, Uni and Nepgear began building what was looking like a giant test tube with metal sections all over it.

Screws and bolts were riveted and rammed, Machines whirred and squealed, and the sounds of metal crashing to the floor became omnipresent as all of the girls worked at what they could. For almost an hour it was nothing but noise and grim resolve that filled Nepgears workshop, until finally she and Uni stepped back from her desk and let out sighs that seemed to echo through the room, over all of the noise. "It's done!" Nepgrar declared with a second sigh as she slumped down onto her chair, ignoring the fact that she was sitting on her toolbox. She didn't care, she was just too tired. She made machines for fun, but she was never under such a time limit before. But she and Uni had done it, they had made a small stasis capsule in time and now Braves' core was floating contently within, unchanged from anything outside of it.

"Y-yeah . . . Nepgear, thanks," Uni said as she leaned on the desk itself, seemingly just as exhausted as Nepgear was.

"My hands hurt," Rom exclaimed casually as she, Ram, Louie and 5pb all were standing around in the centre of the workshop around some large machines that had previously been covered in junk.

"My everything hurts! Why do you have so much stuff Miss Nepgear?!" Ram added indignantly, earning a hand on her head from 5pb, who smiled.

"It's all done, it's all organized," Louise said as she rubbed her neck. "as organized as it can be without real direction that is. You do have a lot of stuff."

"Y-yeah sorry, and thank you!" Nepgear exclaimed as she got up from the chair and looked around at the shelves, her eyes gleaming with ideas. "This will make it much easier to start making a body for him too!"

" Who ya talking about Nep Junior?" Came Neptunes voice, making all the girls look to the worshops entrance to find Neptune, Noire, Vert and Blanc standing there looking at them curiously with IF and Compa to the side, both sharing a smile.

"Yes, I would like to know what all the noise has been about," Vert nodded in agreement.

"We were helping clean up Miss Nepgears's Workshop!" Rom said with a tired smile.

"And we're getting Sundaes for it!" Ram added proudly.

"From who?" Blanc asked calmly, a slight tinge of concern filling her voice.

"Miss Louise," Rom answered, causing Blanc to look at Louise.

"Why are you paying off my sisters with ice cream?"

"Um, err-" Louise mumbled as she glanced at Uni and Nepgear out the corner of her eyes, unsure of how much they wanted to spill.

"We're going to have to tell everyone what we did now, huh?" Nepgear asked with a half-smile.

Uni only groaned. "We're going to get yelled, at, but we'll have to."

"Then let's head to the Livingroom then!" Neptune suddenly stated with a hopping jump. "Then we can use pudding to counter everyone's anger!"

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"You did what!?" Blanc Yelled, causing everyone in Neptune and Nepgears living room to wince at Blancs tone of anger.

The Candidate had just finished explaining what had happened to them, and the entire time all their sister had been quiet. But as soon as thy finished Blancs face had contorted in rage, and led to her outburst.

"We went to look into the info and found that factory, and ended up finding Brave, and then fighting Judge, just like we explained," Louise spoke up.

"I don't think that was what she meant," 5pb said uncertainly with a nervous laugh.

True to her words, Blanc looked like she was fuming, and Rom and Ram were already quaking in fear.

"You took my sisters into danger!" Blanc then growled, her eyes nearly glowing with anger at Louise, who seemed to barely react, surprising everyone.

"Blanc that is not really something you should be worrying about at this point right?" Vert spoke up in the candidates defence. "They already have been fighting, both for your land and to save you, and without all of them, we would still be captive."

"But they-"

"Looked into information they had acquired, and did so hoping to lighten all your burdens by retrieving shares from ASIC, right?" IF interrupted as she looked at Nepgear and winked with her one eye that blanc could not see.

"Y-yes." Nepgear replied unsurely.

". . . fine," Blanc finally caved, only for her to then glare at Uni. "I don't like the last bit though. Brining in ASIC tech here can't be safe. The only thing those bastards deserve is to be crushed!"

"I agree, why did you want to save one of the Uni?" Noire asked, her tone filled with concern and her expression covered in worry.

"Because he is different," Uni stated instantly. "I felt it the first time I fought him alone, and when we met him again I confirmed it. He honestly just wanted to help people, wanted to give back to the world. He just chose the wrong side and was betrayed for it."

"Well, when he gets rebuilt I guess we could question him then, right?" IF suggested with a smile.

"Yep Yep! I'm sure my adorably mechanically inclined Sister can do it too!" Neptune added happily as she shoved pudding into her mouth, seemingly oblivious to the serious atmosphere.

"I-I'll try my best!" Nepgear exclaimed nervous at the sudden attention, and getting a silent mouthed thank you from Uni.

"Before that, I think we should all turn in. We are far from full strength, and our adorable sisters have had a very fulfilling day it sounds like," Vert suggested with a smile.

"That does sound like a good idea. I'm beat from all that talking, and its past Rom and Ram's bedtimes," Blanc said with a nod.

"AWWW, but we wanna stay up with you Blanc!" Rom said sadly, nearing a whine with her tone.

"No," Blanc said instantly as she got up. "I'm still not at one hundred percent so I'm heading to sleep too."

"Can we, sleep with you?" Ram asked uncertainly.

As Soon as Blanc nodded both Ram and Rom let out loud cheers of happiness and hugged Blanc.

"Well, if everyone's heading to sleep, I'll help set up Nep Nep's guest rooms before I head home then!" Compa exclaimed happily, getting a nod of approval and agreement from IF.

"I'll help too!" Nepgear then exclaimed as everyone began bustling around, joining in to help prepare their sleeping areas as the evening took over and gave way to the dead of night.

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"I think now would be a good time to talk," Were the first words to leave Verts mouth as She and Louise came into the guest room they had been given and the door shut behind them. There were only three guest rooms in Planeptunes basilicom, so 5pb had went to stay the night with IF and Compa, leaving a room for each other pair of sisters.

It was now even later in the night as it had taken some time to organize the rooms and for everyone to get ready to sleep. Louise could only look at Vert, from the doorway where she had closed the door, both of them in their pajamas with Vert sitting on the bed.

"Um, about what?" Louise asked nervously, knowing she was not going to enjoy what was to come.

"You know," Vert sad simply as she patted the spot beside her on the bed. Louise's head sunk down as she walked over and dropped beside her sister, being pulled against her with a gentle hand. "It was dangerous going to that factory without telling any of us. You should have taken IF and Compa with you. If that other ASIC general hadn't been betrayed, it would have been two of them against you all. You all could have been badly hurt, or captured!"

"I know."

"Then why did you not come back t tell us?" Vert asked quietly.

" . . . . . . You would have been against it. IF would have been. And I didn't feel like seeing that sprite again," Louise admitted as she stared at hr own lap while Vert head sat on the top of her head.

"Do you truly hate Histoire that much?"

" . . . . No. but the way she orders people around . . . . Without telling people her reasons, or helping . . . it remind me of Eleonore in a way."

"Ah, Vert said simply, remembering what she knew of Louise's past life. " Still, you shouldn't have someone just because they remind you of someone. Histroire is very intelligent, and Planetpunes Oracle. She is constantly trying to keep Neptune doing her job, and trying to keep Nepgear from overly pampering her sister."

Louise went slightly pale at the words. "Oh . . . . I, think I understand why she's like that then."

"Good. . . I'm not angry that you went to try to help people and us; I'm just worried you could have hurt yourself. Your my sister, so it's only natural I worry about you," Very pressed.

Louise was silent for a moment before she turned and hugged vert, her eyes watering slightly. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's alright. What is important is that you are safe, and that you know I worry. Although I cannot guarantee that Chika would not give you more of an earful than I would if she heard of this."

Louise stiffened slightly. Chika, while like another older sister who cared for her a lot, was a lot more vocal than Vert when angry. "Um, you don't think that Sprite would tell her, do you?"

"It's possible, they are both Oracles and do talk occasionally."

". . . shit,"

"Louise."

"Um, I mean crap."

Vert let out a sigh. "Alright, that's fine. Let's stop this serious talk before its morning, we both need some sleep."

"r-right," Louise responded as she and Vert climbed into the bed and turn out the lights. "Um, I'm sorry it took so long to save you. . . . I kept thinking you'd just, come home victorious on your own. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for Louise. I'll see you in the morning."

"Right. Goodnight. See you in the morning.

 **Authors note: So a little shorter of a chapter, but if I keep having scene changes it feels like it will drag on and on, so were cutting it there for now. As it is, I think**

 **I've only got a couple chapters till the end of the ASIC arc, and I look forward to how you all like it!**

 **So until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I apologize for how long it took. I need to stop writing so many stories at once.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors note: I apologize for delay. Stellaris is great for procrastination.**

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"Everyone wake up now!"

Louise groaned as she opened her eye and sat up, finding that her sleep was not as good s she would have liked due to the unfamiliar bed. Glancing around she saw that Vert was still lying down and was grabbing at her head, clearly awakened by the sudden yell that had awoken Louse as well. "Ugh, who was that?"

"I believe it was Histoire," Vert said with a yawn as she sat up and stretched hr arm above her head. As soon as she finished she draped her legs over the side of the bed and got out with a second yawn. "We should get dressed and find out what is going on. If Histoire is yelling so early in the morning, it's probably important."

"Damn sprite," Louise grumbled in reply as she climbed out and began changing alongside Vert. A few minutes later the pair were dressed and stepped out of the room, finding Uni just ahead of them. "Uni, morning," Louise greeted sleepily as she rubbed some sleep from her eyes.

Uni turned around and smiled, her eyes looking just as tired as Louise felt. "Morning, do you know what the yelling was about? My Sister ran off so fast I wasn't able to ask what it even was."

"We merely heard Histoire calling for us all to awaken. We are just as curious as you are I would think," Vert responded as the three of them walked down the hall toward the living room. They could already hear the rowdy voice of Neptune, as well as Histoire chastising her, and as soon as they entered they found they were the last to arrive, and that Histoire had indeed been Chastising Neptune who was sitting on the floor with a unopened pudding in her hands.

"Aaaawww, Histy! What's wrong with having some pudding for breakfast?"

"This is not the Time Neptune! As soon as everyone is here we," Histoire stopped as she noticed Vert, Uni and Louise and smiled. "Ah good, now we can begin. Please seat yourselves. Everyone will want to be seated when I explain the situation."

"Of course, but is it so serious we all need to be here?" Vert asked as she glanced at where Blanc and Noire were already sitting down before taking a seat of her own.

"It is," Histoire said simply as she lowered down to just above the table and took a deep breath. "Barely an hour ago, the ASIC General known as CFW Magic appeared at an Island town to the south of Planeptune's shores." Everyone exclaimed something in surprise or anger, and Histoire simply waited a few seconds before continuing to speak. "She proceeded to attack and beat back the Guild agents in the town and then proceeded to begin destroying building at random ,claiming that she had business with all the CPU's and that she would wait there for you all. With the town inhabitants as hostages."

"How dare she! That is so not cool! I say we beat her up ladies!" Neptune declared instantly.

"You're forgetting that we are still far from our primes." Noire said with a shake of her head.

"Indeed, if we tried to fight her, it would be a repeat of when she defeated and captured us. She was the strongest of them after all," Vert explained with a bit of regret tinging her voice.

"I'm not making my sisters fight that wench!" Blanc growled out on instinct as she pulled Rom and Ram closer to her.

"But we can't just let her hurt people!" Nepgear Countered, a worried look in her eyes.

"That I why I called everyone. Something needs to be done, but The CPU's are not strong enough. As much as I would not like to, I believe the Candidates should go with you all, and meet CFW Magic as a group."

"What? How could you even suggest them fighting her on their own while we just watch?!" Noire erupted.

"I am not. The message stated she had business with you, not that she was picking a fight. While it is highly possible that she is intending to attack you, the chance of a conversation is still there, and perhaps we can make her understand the foolishness of trying to bring forth the Deity of Sin."

 _'You just want us to get information for you,'_ Was what Louise wanted to say. However she held her tongue, still recalling how needlessly rude she had been before. Still though, it felt like Histoire was using them somehow.

And while she had been lost in thought, the conversation had continued on without her.

"So, we go and act as our sisters guards basically, and hope we can get some information out of Magic," Uni summarized slowly. "What about IF, Compa or 5pb? Do they know about this?"

"Yes, I have already informed Lady IF, and she has said that she, Compa and 5pb would meet you all there to support you."

"If she's as strong as you're making her out to be, we probably will," Louise said as she felt a tingling sensation begin to move through her body. It was the same feeling when she knew she would fight Judge, the expectation of fighting a strong foe, of testing her mettle.

It was at that exact moment that Louise realized she may have become an adrenaline addict.

"I agree, we should call them if we're going to do this," Nepgear said uncertainty.

"Of course we are my adorable little junior!" Neptune exclaimed as she hugged Nepgear while rubbing the top of her head. "We can't just let her ruin Planeptune after all!"

"Or the rest of Gameinustri either," Noire added with a nod.

"So, were really doing this? I don't like it, it's too dangerous," Blanc said in an annoyed tone.

"It is, but there is hardly any other options we can take, no?" Vert asked calmly.

"Ugh, fine, I get it. But if my sisters get hurt-"

"Don't worry Blanc!" "We'll be fine!" Rom and Ram chimed at once with smiles on their faces.

"Then let's get going and bring the hurt on that evil girl, ladies!" Neptune declared proudly, looking silly even as she said something so accurate.

"How are we getting there though?" Nepgear suddenly asked. We can fly, but our sisters are still too weak to HDD, right?"

"Yes, you will each need to transform and carry them, that will be the fastest way of getting there," Histoire stated simply.

"That's a great Idea Histy! We haven't seen our adorable Juniors HDD's yet anyway right?"

"Well, we did see them when they saved us," Vert said.

"Well yeah, but we didn't get a good look!" Neptune pressed as she jumped up from her chair. "So why don't you all transform one at a time so we can see your HDD's?" She asked looking at all the candidates expectantly. "Then we can head out and stop ASIC!"

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Uni let out a sigh and stood up. "Fine I'll go first," She said nervously as she took a quick glance at her sister and went HDD, standing there for a moment allowing the CPU's to take a look at her.

"Hmm, looks strong, it suits you well!" Noire finally said, making Uni smile and nod to her sister happily.

"Were next!" Both Rom and Ram exclaimed as they went HDD while sitting beside Blanc, their mirror imaged looks having an interesting contrast with their sister between them. Blanc simply smiled and held them close.

"Not bad! You next Nep Junior!" Neptune exclaimed at Nepgear, catching her by surprise.

"Oh, um right, here I go," Nepgear fumbled as she went HDD and stood up, allowing everyone a look at her sleek HDD form that was clearly similar to her sisters.

"Wowee! Nep Junior, you look really cool!" Neptune exclaimed as she looked her sister up and down, causing Nepgear to twist in embarrassment at it for a few seconds before she looked at Louise.

"Um, are going to transform?"

"Oh yeah! Vert said yours was strong, and I think I caught a glimpse before too. Let's see it!" Neptune pressed with a gleam of interest in her eyes.

"Ugh, fine," Louise grumbled as she stood up and took a step away from the chair she had taken. "But mines not like everyone else's, "She then warned as she went HDD as well.

The CPU's all had their own ideas of what Louise's HDD would look like. Blanc and Noire figured it would be similar to Verts only altered for her body like their own sisters were, while Neptune and Vert had caught a glimpse of it and figured it's be a little less revealing, but otherwise had not seen it well.

The truth of her HDD's looks however made all the CPU's pause and stare. They were all used to their own suits, ones that covered their bodies while showing off their body's curves and some skin to help showcase the concept of beautiful goddesses that protected the nations. Her full bodysuit that showed no skin, and the heavy armour plating that sat across it, was unlike the other candidates. Just looking upon it made them feel heavy, like it was larger than it looked. The dark colors seemed to pull in feelings, and the hard edges of the plates seemed to ooze aggression while the wings while numerous and small, seemed vindictive with their curves when compared to their own. She looked more like a knight of a dark forest, or a goddess of war instead of a cute or adorable Goddess in training.

"Her HDD really does have shock value, huh?"Uni muttered to Nepgear, who nodded with a smile, her quiet words enough to rouse their sisters.

"Woweee! That looks heavy!" Neptune declared loudly.

"More like it looks hard to move in," Noire said with a nod.

"And strong as well," Blanc added, looking faintly impressed.

"Indeed, my adorable little sister is all grown up it looks like!" Vert exclaimed, causing IF, Nepgear and Uni to look to the sides, knowing just how grown up her HDD was.

"If you are done gawking, don't we have a place to be and work to do?" Louise, as Green sister said coolly as she stared at all the CPU's including her sister, her eyes like chiseled granite. it was the perfect example of what they had just thought.

All of the CPU's froze up a bit at her tone, surprised by the difference in her voice, her tone, her expression, and even her posture. Her HDD's personality was different than her own. In a way similar and yet different from Neptune's.

"Whoa . . . uh Thundertits . . . Your sister is a bit, scary," Blanc muttered quietly to Vert, finding Louise's gaze a bit hard to take.

"Y-yeah, that's some impressive power behind that glare," Noire admitted quietly.

"Hey don't be like that!" Vert insisted nervously. "She's still my adorable sister, and all of our sisters have proven that they are capable time and again in saving us and being able to use Hard Drive Divinity. So let's place our trust in them, yes?"

"Yeah ladies, lets trust our cute little sisters to get it done so we can come back for pudding lickity split!" Neptune added with a smile.

The other CPU's groaned at Neptune's words, knowing that she had destroyed every bit of seriousness that had accumulated thus far. It would be impossible to continue the conversation in any way close to what it had been.

"In a sense I must agree with Neptune, in that you should have left already!" Histoire pressed suddenly. "We do not know if ASIC will stay there, so to stop the damage from spreading you need to leave now!"

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Barely an hour later after a very fast and uncomfortable flight, for the CPU's, they arrived at the edge of the town. Some buildings looked like burnt out husks, while others looked untouched, as if the buildings had been attacked at random, not to destroy, but to sow chaos. As they stepped into the village the sound of a motorcycle greeted them a couple seconds before they saw it drive toward them, IF, Compa and 5pb atop it very carefully.

"Good you're finally here! We came as soon as Histoire told us," If quickly said as she stopped them motorcycle in front of them at the town's main square.

"We've managed to evacuate everyone for safety," 5pb added just as Compa nodded happily.

" Yep yep, even helped those wounded too, so there's nothing in the way of Nep Nep's grand debut!"

"Ahahah, yeah I'm not rally up for it though, so it's our awesome juniors turn instead!" Neptune exclaimed with a smirk as she looked around. "So, where that bad witch at anywhoo?"

"She's standing on a hill on the other side of the towns outskirts. She's just been standing there like a statue," IF explained as 5pb suddenly shivered.

"Yeah, until she'd suddenly maniacally cackle like a psychopath every once in a while at random. it's really creepy."

"Then we silence her for good before she scars someone!" Blanc exclaimed s she began stomping in the direction IF had gestured too.

Noire simply shrugged as everyone followed her and walked through the town, finding it unnerving that it was so completely empty and quiet. Every city in Gameindustri was a mecca of industry and technology where people lived worked and played. Noise of some kind, even the low hum of machinery, street systems or game systems from arcades was a common thing everywhere, and such complete silence was only appropriate for dungeons or monster lairs.

As they left the town and went around a small grove of tree's they saw her, CFW Magic. Her skin was an unhealthy pale greyish purple color that looked like a mockery of life. Her combat armour looked like a perversion of the CPU's HDD spiky and malevolent. And her weapon looked like something out of a game fit for a final boss, a scythe with a wicked edge and an unhealthy looking amount of spikes. Her yellow eyes seemed devoid of emotions beside hate, pleasure and evil as she glared at the CPU's and candidates with a wry smile on her lifeless looking lips. "It's about time you all got here; I was worried I was going to have to destroy another village or something!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Uni exclaimed as she hefted and aimed her rifle at Magic who did not react in the slightest.

"Yeah you big meanie, now we're gonna beat you up!"

"Mhm, with our big sister too!"

"Oh will you now?" Magic said with a loud chuckle that made Rom and Ram shiver and shift backwards toward Blanc. "Your sisters there are too weak to fight me, and they couldn't win before, so what makes you think you five could win now?"

"Because we're together, that's why!" Nepgear declared proudly as she, Uni, Rom, Ram and Louise stepped forward.

"Do you really think that five Candidates could even pretend to pose a problem for me when I took out your sisters who are clearly your betters? You're nothing but children masquerading as heroes against one who has all the answers!"

"Does that include the answer to why you're doing this?" Louise suddenly asked, surprising almost everyone around. Vert and IF were the only ones not surprised, and smiled knowingly as they glanced at each other.

"Of course it does, and I'll even tell you, because there is nothing you can do about it anyway!" Magic replied with snark. "I shall Bring Arfoire, the Deity of Sin into this world! That is the one, and only true reason for ASIC to exist!"

"But that will cause the destruction of Gameindustri, of the world. Surely you cannot be so arrogant as to think that you would not be included in that destruction, yes?" Vert asked calmly as she stared right at Magic, still remembering vividly how badly she had beaten them back at the graveyard in the past. It made her body physically ache remembering it, and made her feel tired just from the memory.

"I don't care about Gameindustri whatsoever! All I care about is bringing my beloved Arfoire back into this world as any fan would!" Magic proclaimed, her tone dripping with sensual respect, making even Neptune quiver in disgust. "Besides, the destruction of Gameindustri is guaranteed, Either by My hand, or my beloved ladies!"

"What do you mean?" IF asked loudly, ignoring Magic's glare as she turned to her.

"I mean, that even if you kill me and the others, it will not matter! Within our beings are the locks that once released will awaken my lady and unleash her into the world! Once two of them are broken, her power will truly begin to seep into the world and bring real chaos to all in Gameindustri. And if you somehow manage to kill all of us, in that same moment she will be unleashed and destroy the world!"

"That like, totally not fair though!" Neptune complained angrily, causing Magi to cackle like a sociopath.

"I know, that is the point! No matter what happens, I win! But I'm not completely unfair, so I'll give you a time limit. A Week, I will do nothing for an entire week, but at the end of that week, I will return here to Planeptune, and destroy it permanently! See if you can prepare to defeat me, and allow my lady to be that one step closer to bringing your downfall!" Magic declared before she crouched down and rocketed into the air, flying away while laughing like a maniac, her laughs echoing in the sky for many moments after she had disappeared.

The silence that followed was interrupted by Blanc slamming her hammer down onto a nearby rock, cracking it in half instead of pulverising it into powder. "Damnit! That bitch! This cannot be, there has to be some wat to make her pay without making things more difficult for us! a Week is not long enough to regain our full strength!"

"Perhaps that is the point. She is trying to make us despair the situation," Vert said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't prepare for the worst," Uni said as she pulled out her phone and began tapping on it repeatedly like she was typing something down.

"Maybe, we should ask Histoire then? Maybe she knows something that will help?" Nepgear suggested after a moment of awkward silence, no one sure what to say or do.

"That's a good idea," IF replied, doing her best to sound hopeful as she continued. "With any luck she will, and we won't have to worry, let's head back and find out!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors note: So yeah, not yet at the end of the arc, but close I swear! Also sorry about the wait, I was on vacation camping for two weeks so I fell badly behind on writing for all my stuff. Hope you like the chapter, and I swear the Arfoire/MK2 arc will end by the next chapter. Then we get to the really fun stuff!**

"I can think of nothing that will stop Arfoire from being released. Not when the seals are within ASIC's generals." Histoire stated to everyone as they sat in Neptune's living room, staring at Histoire in disbelief.

"Aw come on Histy, you have to know something! It'll just take a few hours right? Three hours? thirty hours? three days?" Neptune pushed hopefully.

"That is not the case Neptune!" Histoire snapped back. "From what you have told me of what CFW Magic said, they willingly took in the seals that held Arfoire into their own bodies so that when they die the seals are broken. To stop them the seals would have to be removed, but forcibly removing them while she could fight back would destroy them. They would have to be willingly removed!"

"So we would have to convince her to remove it herself, which she will not do," Vert summarized with a sigh. " Oh dear."

"Oh dear, is barely the half of it! isn't there some we can like, seal her?" Blanc asked.

"There may be, but I would have to look, and it will likely take three days to come to a conclusion."

"Witch would leave us with only four days to enact it. That's not enough." Noire muttered with a sigh.

"It may have to be," Vert declared with a sigh. "We are not back up to full strength, and I am loathe to send our sisters against her when we could not prevail in the first place."

"There were four of them then, I'm sure we could do it now at full strength!" Blanc proclaimed angrily.

"Perhaps, but for now we have to decide what to do. She clearly did not realize that Nepgear has the core of CFW brave, so perhaps that means that Arfoire cannot be released?" Noire asked Histoire.

"Hmm, it is possible, but even if it is, some of her power will still be released and keep running rampant, two seals at least need to be held to keep her power at bay."

"So I need to Work on fixing him really fast then?" Nepgear asked, pushing herself into what had almost immediately become a conversation only for Histoire and their big sisters.

Vert nodded calmly. "I believe that would be a good idea if it is possible, but please don't push yourself too hard."

"I'll do what I have to!" Nepgear declared instead of simply agreeing with Vert as she got up and bolted out of the room, Uni following behind her saying something about helping.

"Aww, what are we gonna do then" Ram complained loudly.

"Why don't you help Compa?" IF suggested with a mischievous grin.

"I was about to get some pudding for everyone!" Compa exclaimed, making Rom and Ram's eyes light up.

"If we help do we get some?"

"Of course!"

"Then we'll help!"

" . . . . Well, that worked," Noire said as Compa led the twins out of Neptune's living room before she glanced at Louise to see her heading for the doorway. " Going to help Nepgear and Uni I take it?"

"Something like that," Louise said as she walked out, quickening her pace as she went down the hall, only stopping when she came to a bare balcony and sat down on its edge.

It was infuriating. ASIC had beat them before even starting by jamming the seals inside of them. Even if thy all died, they still won because they would release the Deity of Sin. Everyone seemed to be so hopeful on some way to stop them or seal it but could they? Magic was not about to help them, and Brave might not be able to fight against them. Neither they nor their sisters were strong enough to beat Magic at full strength either! Maybe if they all teamed up on her at once, but that would still release the Diety of Sin! Of course the fact that she so mockingly told them that once two of them were broken the Diety's power would begin leaking made it . . . . . . . .

"Wait a minute, once two of them are dead. . . . two of them. . . . . Trick, Judge, Brave . . . unless. . . ." Louise's eyes widened more and more as she began to connect the dots. She sat there for a few seconds before scrambling up onto the rail and over, dropping herself off the edge as if it was the most normal thing ever. Going HDD mid-fall she stopped falling and held herself there for a second beside the Planeptune Basilicom's tower and watched the horizon, making sure she had her direction correct before suddenly blasting off toward Lastation. It was going to be a long flight, but she didn't care. She needed to find out if what she thought was accurate or not!

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"There, the skeletal systems are done, I think," Nepear said unsurely as she and Uni gazed at the Mechanical Skeleton standing before them in Nepgears workshop. It was about the same height as them, maybe slightly taller, but aside from the metal joints, rivets and some glowing spots that were power junctions, it didn't look like much.

"It's . . kind of dull isn't it?" Uni asked carefully.

"Well, yeah, but I don't think I'd have enough material or time to Remake him full sized or in the same design, sorry Uni,"

" Don't apologize. Just the fact you're doing this is enough. I, I want to give him a chance to redeem himself!"

"I know. . . . I hope our sisters are making some headway too," Nepgear then said, sounding very worried and sullen.

"Me too," Uni agreed as she glanced at a wall with a clock, making her eyes go wide. "Uh, is that clock right?"

"Yeah why. . . . oh. I hope we haven't missed dinner."

"GE-GE, Uni, Lou-lou, Foods ready!" Compa called as she came in the door of the worskshop and looked around. " Where's Lou-Lou?"

"Lou-Lou?" Uni asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Nepgear is Ge-Ge, so Louise is Lou-Lou!" Compa exclaimed.

"Um, I think she'd attack you if she heard that," Uni said unsurely. Sure they knew Louise better now, but that fact made Uni worry about how quick to react she was.

"Louise isn't here, isn't she up with Vert?" Nepgear asked with a tilt of her head.

"She left the room just after you two did. She hasn't been seen hours for now."

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Histoire let out long sigh, telling the night air just how tired she was. When dinner had come she had left her own room and her research to get some food, after all one could not work without food, only to find Vert madly rushing around looking for Louise. Apparently she had disappeared at some point in the day without telling anyone, and all attempts to call her were met with the noise of no connection.

The result was that Vert had dragged everyone into helping look for her for almost an hour before Histoire had managed to calm everyone down. just in time for a text from Louise saying she be back sometime in the night and to not wait for her.

Which promptly made Vert go crazy.

Again.

"Haaa, she is such a handful, it almost makes me happy all I have to deal with Neptune. Almost."

"Now now, you don't actually believe that, no?"

Histoire turned to see a quartet of old friends hovering on the balcony with her, the four mascot discs.

"No, perhaps not," Histoire said simply before she hovered down to the railing and smiled. " I apologize that we haven't had a chance to talk since you arrived."

"It is no trouble, The current CPU's are quiet energetic after all," The purple disc replied, glowing slightly as it spoke.

"The Candidates even more so," The green disc added humorously.

Just as Histoire opened her mouth to respond she noticed Louise, in her HDD, land on another balcony around the corner of the building from her holding something of dangerous interest. "It seems it will have to wait," Histoire said with a sigh as she Quicley came in from the balcony, and went down the hall until she caught up with Louise, who seemed to have reverted from her HDD. "where have you been?!

Louise turned around on the spot allowing Histoire, and the four mascot Discs who had followed her, to see the pair of dangerous, borderline grotesque objects that Louse held. In her right hand she held a large handle of a sword missing most of its length, red, blue and gold in color. It was clear who it likely belonged to, and even with its lesser mass Louise had resorted to resting it on her shoulder. The sword looked dangerous, but in her left hand Louise was holding a large and dented Sphere of dark metal with numerous torn wires coming out of it. The wires sparked occasionally, even twitching slightly as if they were alive, and the thing had a disturbingly ominous aura about it.

Louise scowled and looked away from histoire for a moment, muttering under her breath before she sighed and turned back to her. "I was acquiring some things."

"A broken sword of our enemies, and illegal technology you mean?" Histoire asked angrily, trying her hardest so sound upset and unamused all at once. She knew it was difficult considering her size.

"Braves sword, and Judges core," Louise clarified, much to Histories shock as she tossed the core in the air a few times. "Magic's words made me realize that we hadn't actually finished off Judge, so I went back to finish the job and took his Core in the process."

"Why?" Histoire demanded.

Louise simply stared back at Histoire for a few seconds before she smiled slightly. "Because the seals are in their cores! If we jam judge's core into Brave when he's rebuilt, that's two seals that stay sealed!"

"And what if it ends up being Judge that takes over that body? What if two makes him unstable, or worse, they destroy each other? why are you intent on dabbling with what you don't understand?" Histoire nearly yelled, stopping her voice from reaching such a pitch as she remembered that everyone was asleep. It was almost three in the morning after all!

Louise's expression went from angry and haughty, to a sullen scowl that shifted to full anger and sadness as she suddenly dropped both Brave's sword and Judge's core to the floor with heavy clangs. "Why? You ask me, why? Because I have no other life to live for! My old life was nothing but pain, but here, I'm someone, I have family that loves me, I have friends that actually care about me, and don't just care about how our family names interact! No matter what happens, I am not letting it end! I am not letting Vert or 5pb suffer, I'm not letting Rom, Ram, Uni, Nepgear, Blanc, Noire, Neptune, or even you suffer either! I finally have a place I care about, and I am not letting the advent of some old god of evil wreck that, not if I can help it!"

Histoire was taken back for a second before she scowled back at Louise. "So you would endanger everyone to protect them? If any of those things goes wrong and what I said happens, everything you're trying to do becomes pointless!"

"I know that! I know that but there's nothing else I can try! Nepgear and Uni are giving it their all hoping that brave will be on our side, and I trust them on it, but even if brave is, if we kill Magic, that's two seals gone for sure, and then Arfoire's power starts coming out anyway!"

"That is why I am looking for a way to strengthen the seals! if I can find one, then-"

"Then they are strengthened, but if we kill Magic, that's still one seal broken for sure, alongside Tricks that already was!" Louise intercepted as she crouched down and picked up Judges core. " That's why, when I heard Magic's words, and again when I found judge and took his core, I had an idea. A horrible, monsterous, and terrible idea!"

Histoire looked at Louise and could see the worry in her eyes. " What is it? Your idea."

Louise took a few steps forward until she was barely a foot away from Histoire and very quietly said her plan.

Histoire went quiet as she thought about it and then sighed. " I'm not sure if-"

"It should work," The White Mascot disc suddenly said. "It's not a bad idea either."

"I agree, if we use our powers, and incorporate the other core, it should work," The green one agreed.

"Are you sure?" Histoire asked as she turned and looked to see the four Mascot Discs hovering around her and Louise. "Using your powers for such a things would be . . . well it might not feel right."

"There is no wrong way to utilize out powers when it shall protect Gameindustri," The black disc said finally.

Histoire looked to Louise and sighed. " I do not like this plan. I see the potential for it, but if it goes wrong, we'll have nothing to protect Gameindustri from Arfoire if the worst comes to pass."

"I know that."

" . . . . .you don't like me, and personally, I'll admit that you're the only CPU candidate I don't like as well."

"I haven't exactly given you many reason to like me," Louise admitted with a shrug. "No one I hated in my old life would I be willing to work with, even if someone's life was at stake. that's how much I hated them. I don't like you, but if this gives us a . . . . Ace in the hole I think the saying was?" Louise asked, getting a slight nod from Histoire on the phrase. "Right, if it gives us our ace, then I'll be more than willing to work with you on it."

Histoire paused for a second and nodded. " Very well, we'll work on this, tomorrow!"

"Why not now?"

"Because Nepgear and Uni are not done rebuilding Brave, and it's three in the morning. You need sleep, and if you are not in bed when Vert wakes up, she is going to tear the streets up looking for you!"

"Oh . . . she was worried?"

"Frantic would be the more appropriate word. leave Judges core with me and take the sword with you. you can give it to Nepgear tomorrow, now go to bed!"

"R-right," Louise said as she picked up braves sword, or what remained of it, and dropped Judges core again and began walking down the hall, only to stop and turn back to Histoire. "Should, we keep this plan to ourselves?"

Histoire sighed. " For now yes. I will tell you when I need you for it."

Louise nodded in agreement and ran off, leaving Histoire and the Mascot discs alone again.

"Goodness. She is quiet the bundle of emotions," The black disc said casually.

"Yes, a roiling mass of emotion and barely contained power, a tiny little spitfire," The green disc added, sounding slightly amused.

"That is an apt description. Haaa, it seems our musings will be cut short before they even began. Shall we go over what this new plan shall entail?"

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 **"** **Where did you run off too?! Why didn't you say anything!? What were you even doing!? Why did you make me worry like that!?"**

Louise promptly fell off the bed, Verts loud cries not only throwing her out of her sleep, but making her panic as well. When she finally was not breathing like she had run a marathon Louise sat up and looked over the top of the bed to find Vert sitting there, a tearfully worried expression covering her face. She was still in her nightclothes, meaning she had just woken up as well, but her eyes were so wide Louise found it hard to believe she could have been sleeping just seconds ago like she had when she snuck into the bed with her.

"Uhm, can I answer one at a time?" Louise asked nervously as Vert continued to glare at her.

"All, now!" Vert stated instant as she crawled across the bed until her face was right in front of Louise's allowing her to suddenly hug her. "Don't you dare run off and not tell me like that! I thought ASIC kidnapped you or something!"

"I wouldn't get kidnapped! I just, had to go check something. . I realized that if Nepgear is rebuilding Brave, he wouldn't be of a use to us if he didn't have his weapon. So I got it. err, part of it."

Vert glanced to the one wall where Braves sword was resting and let out a sigh. "That's a fine reason, but if you're going to do something like that, you need to tell someone, and someone should have gone with you!"

" . . . .Sorry," Louise said bashfully as he looked away from her sister, feeling extremely stupid for her lack of forethought. She hadn't told anyone because she was worried what they would say, but now she felt even worse knowing she had worried Vert so badly.

"As long as you understand," Vert said warmly as she looked at the broken sword against the wall. " Last night, Nepgear said she and Uni were going to wake up early to continue their work. I'll tell the others you're here and awake, so why don't you go deliver that, since you went through so much trouble just to get it and worry me!"

Louise shifted away a bit as she felt Verts Displeasure radiating from her and quickly nodded before jumping off the bed, quickly getting changed and rushing out of the room with a quick call of thanks. As she got away from the room and began heading toward Nepgears workshop though he slowed as her thoughts returned to the night before.

Histoire and her had a plan, but the thought of it was imperfect. It could fail, and if it did it would be spectacular. She had admitted it had the best chances though, so they would do it, but because of how it needed to be done, they could not tell everyone. She could give the sword to Uni and Nepgear, but she could not tell her what her real intention had been, or at least not part of it.

She had to lie to her friends, the first friends she really ever had all in the hopes that it would lead to a better tomorrow.

"No, it will. I will not fail. We won't fail!" Louise said to herself as she arrived at the door to Nepgears workshop. the sounds of machinery echoed even through the thick door, as did voices and the clang of tools. After a second of simply standing there, Louise pushed open the door and went in.

The workshop, even with the previous cleaning, looked like a tornado had struck it. Pieces of metal pipe, fillings, shrapnel, and even still glowing pieces of red hot nearly liquid metal sat around the floor, desks and shelves that were pushed against the outer walls. At the back of the Workshop was the metal and glass tube that contained Brave's core, and in the centre of the room connected to a number of cables, metal cranes and clamps was the metal skeleton that Nepgear had already finished. Staggered around it, also held in similar ways, was a variety of metal plates, braces, circuitry boards and wire cables. Some were carefully connected to the skeleton, while others were simply awaiting placement while Uni and Nepgear fiddled and compared ideas on placement and other such things. They were so into it that they did not hear the door open, Louise come in, or the thud when she closed the door behind her.

Stepping closer to them and the skeleton, Louise found that it hardly was just a skeleton anymore. With the cabling, circuitry and plating that was in and partially on it, it was truly taking on a humanoid form. It looked like a generic kind of machine, but the fact that it did already said just how hard Uni and Nepgear had been working on it. As Uni and Nepgear took a step away from it, Louise figured it was as good a time as any and held Braves sword behind her and coughed lightly. "Um, M-morning."

Both Uni and Nepgear turned at once to face Louise, their faces filling with shock and surprise before they ran over.

"Louise where have you been?!"

"Are you alright?"

"Does Vert know you're back?"

"We spent ages looking for you, why didn't you say anything!?"

"When did you get back?"

"What have you got there?"

Louise felt her head spin as the two of them asked so many question one after another they began to all blend together. She quickly raised her free hand with an open palm and smiled. " Stop, please, I can't answer if you keep asking questions!"

Both Uni and Nepgear said nothing and simply stared at Louise expectantly.

"I'm fine, thank you for worrying. Yes Vert knows I'm back and is telling everyone else, and I went back to Lastation, for this," Louise said as she held Brave's sword, what was left of it, in front of her so Uni and Nepgear could see it in all its splendor. Even broken it was still a beautiful weapon, and was still very sharp. "I . . .I figured you'd want brave to have this when he woke back up, to prove we trust him, or something, like that,"

"You, went all the way to Lastation by yourself, just to get this?" Uni asked in surprise.

"Well . .. I mean, I'm not mechanically inclined but I wanted to help in some way," Louise said nervously as she glanced to the side, hoping Uni would not press deeper.

Much to Louise's surprise, Uni took the sword from her, passed it to Nepgear, and then proceeded to latch onto Louise, giving her a tight hug. " Thank you Louise, you have no idea what this means!"

"Sorry, it was all I could-"

"Don't be sorry!" Uni interrupted as she broke away from Louise and grabbed her shoulders, staring right at her. "This is something great, and it means that Brave might even be able to help us fight against Magic!"

"Uni's right, everything helps," Nepgear chimed in with a smile as she pulled out a small folding tablet and smiled even wider. "If you wanted to help though, there is a lot that you can do to help! Especially since Rom and Ram would just break it if they wanted to help," Nepgear stated, whispering the last bit as she glanced to the side with a neutral and an expression that said she was more upset at herself for saying it than anything else.

"But, I really don't get technology that well. The last time I tried to record something on TV, I ended up reformatting the PVR's Hard drive and making it give all the show info in ones and zeros," Louise admitted as Uni let go and took a step back.

"You formatted it and made it spit out all its info in binary?" Uni asked in surprise. When Louise simply nodded Uni simply broke into a fit of laughter, with Nepgear smiling and holding herself back from doing the same. "Yeah that's pretty bad. I've been wondering for a while but, why are you so bad with technology?"

"Well, is not that I can't use it, but if I try to do anything beyond that . . . . . . . I'm just not used to it. My home, other life thing I guess."

"That makes sense," Nepgear said as she walked over and showed Louise the tablet. "Here, touch here, and raise this, while using this little dial to control speed and this little knob."

Louise carefully took the tablet, as if touching it would cause it to snap into a billion pieces, and very gently did as Nepgear had shown her. In response, one of the small cranes that was attached to the ceiling, and holding a large piece of shaped metal that looked like a shoulder pad, shifted to the side a bit.

"You, have a crane connected to a tablet?" Louise asked in surprise. She knew it had to be connected wirelessly, but she could barely connect her and Verts console controllers without worrying if they were connected properly or not. The idea of such a massive piece of machinery being controlled wirelessly. . . . . "it made her a little more nervous about holding the tablet so loosely.

"It makes things simpler if I can just grab it from my pocket and move things," Nepgear said as he turned and began gesturing to the various cranes of hanging metal and plate. " But we're getting to a point where we're having to weld and bolt things at the same time, so it's difficult with just two of us."

"But if you're wanting to help We can speed up the building of the body and get Brave rebuilt faster!" Uni exclaimed in sudden realization as she then ran over to a workbench and began looking over layers of paper and a clutter of almost two dozen individual tablets. Just how many did Nepgear have?!

"But, I'm not mechanically inclined. What if I break something?" Louise asked, clearly worried about the chance of ruining all their hard work.

"I can put a lock on the cranes speed so you don't, and I'm sure you can do it!" Nepgear said positively.

"Well," Louise muttered nervously as she looked over the arrays of chains, machines, and other things she barely understood, then glanced at Uni and Nepgear. They both had very hopeful looks on their faces, and Louise then also noticed bits of oil and grime all across their skin and clothing. She also noticed an uncountable number of water bottles and food wrappers piled at the corner of one of the desks, making it clear that they had been doing little except working on Braves new body.

"Alright," Louise finally said with a deep breath as she looked at Nepgear and Uni. "What can I do?"

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With a third set of hands the work on Brave's body became streamlined, and by the next day the body was complete. All it needed was for Braves core to be placed within it.

Unfortunately things would not go simply, as that was when the CPU's decided to come and see how it was going, just as they were about to put Brave's core inside the new body.

"Hey little sis how's it going!" Neptune declared loudly as she swung the door to Nepgears workshop open, causing her, Uni and Louise to all flinch back from the machines, just in case something moved.

"N-Neptune, I've told you not to just barge in if I could be working!" Nepgear whined, clearly angry, but unable to truly show it to her beloved sister.

"Oh it's all good right, whatcha doing!" Neptune said as she walked in with Vert, Noire and blanc coming in behind her. a second later Histoire floated in as well, glancing at Louise with an expression that Louise simply gave a light, barely discernable nod back to her.

"Well, we've finished the body, so we were about to put Braves core inside, and see if he'll wake up," Uni admitted nervously as she avoided looking at anyone but Nepgear or her own feet.

"And you didn't think to tell us so we could be here in case he becomes violent?" Noire chastised her sister, making her head slump even lower.

"He's, he's in a new body, he won't be able to move that fast right? It won't be that dangerous," Louise said, trying to help recover the situation.

Unfortunately Vert took a step forward and shook her head. "They still were our enemy, and none of us have seen his supposed desire to not fight. No, he should be held down in some way to make sure he cannot act!"

"I agree, we cannot trust him," Blanc agreed with a nod.

"But, that's-"

"Why don't we just disconnect something then," Louise suggested quickly as Uni paused. "Like. disconnecting his legs or arms or something?"

The CPU's all looked at each other uncertainly, making it clear that even activating him made them worried. to their surprise though, Histoire was who spoke up. " That should be fine, his weapon is away from the body. So long as Nepgear has not added anything unneeded there should be no trouble."

"Well, if Histy says its fine . . " Neptune muttered, unsure of what else to say.

"I suppose that is alright, but we would like to speak with him about . . . . ..well, about things." Vert said, not continue to say about what.

"Well, that's fine, I guess," Uni ceded before she suddenly smirked. " But we're talking to him first!"

"Uni that is not a-" Noire began to chide, but stopped when Louise stepped forward with a scowl on her face.

"Uni and Nepgear have been working tirelessly on rebuilding him, It would only be right that they get to talk to him first!"

Both Noire and Blanc opened her mouths to speak, the latter looking like she was ready to summon her hammer, until Histoire floated forward and spoke up again. "I believe that is fair. It will also make him more likely to be cooperative if there are friendly faces seen first and foremost."

The CPU's all looked at each other uncertainly and finally each nodded. "Very well, but were staying her and watching!" Blanc exclaimed with a grumble.

"Um, that's fine; we'll turn him on then!" Nepgear said as she looked to Uni and nodded.

Uni, using a crowbar, bent open a piece of the chest allowing its core recess point to be visible, and very carefully Nepgear set it in place and quickly connected the major points. As she finished and steppe back Uni let go and let the late pull itself back into positions with a click. For a few seconds nothing happened, then some sections of metal on the shoulder lit up slightly, followed by a twitch of the fingers, and then finally his eyes lit up. It took a few seconds, but his head finally tilted from to side, finally landing on Uni. "U-Uni? why . . . .. am I alive?"

"Yes, yes we rebuilt you!" Uni exclaimed happily.

" . . . .Why?" Brave said in a solemn voice. As his undetailed head simply glanced down at the floor. "I did horrible things, I endangered the very people I wanted to help. Why would you help me still?"

"Because you wanted to help people!" Uni nearly screamed surprising everyone in the room. "Trick just wanted to be a creep, Judge just wanted to kill people, and Magic just wants to destroy the world. You, you wanted, still want, to help people, you want to allow all children to have fun and play games!"

"But, I fought you; I tried to stop you from doing the right thing!" Brave pressed as he head lifted up and tried to lean forward, though his body would not move.

"Well, people do fight, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, or do the right thing when we find out what it is, right?" Nepgear asked as she stepped forward and smiled at Brave.

The room was silent for a couple seconds as brave looked at Nepgear, then back at Uni and then at the floor for many moments. Finally, his head nodded slightly and he looked back up at Uni. "I'm sorry. You're right. Just because I did the wrong thing, doesn't mean I can't do the right thing! How can I help?"

"You can first tell us if Magic has any weaknesses!" Noire stated loudly, causing Braves head to shift toward where she and the other CPU's were standing.

"Yes of course I- ugh," Brave suddenly groaned as the lights across his artificial body began dimming slightly.

"Brave! Nepgear, what's happening to him?!" Uni demanded in worry.

"Uhm ah . ." Nepgear mumbled as she grabbed a tablet and kept fiddling with it for a few seconds before her eyes widened and then went to normal. "He's just tired. Since we threw his core in that stasis module, he's getting feedback from the stress it had been under up till now from when we um, pried it from his body and brought it here. I think he just needs some rest."

"Then rest is must be given, we still need to consider other options for dealing with CFW Magic, and as it is we only have five days until she claimed she would attack." Histoire stated much to the surprise of the CPU's.

"But, we need to see if he has in formation that can lead to ASIC's defeat, don't you agree Histoire?" Vert asked, sounding very annoyed about not being allowed to question him.

"Be that as it may, if he is too tired to stay awake, we cannot trust any information give in that state," Histoire countered simply as she turned toward the CPU's. "We shall speak to him tomorrow and question him then!"

"Well, if Histy says so, let's not argue gals, she'll get Pisty, and we still have pudding to finish!" Neptune declared as she quickly vacated the premises, with Histoire following after in annoyance.

"Ugh, stupid little, C'mon Uni, lets head up," Noire said with a grumble as she and Blanc turned and left the workshop.

"R-right," Uni said as she looked at Brave, his lights dim but not out as his head hung limply.

"Don't worry Uni, he's fine. I just checked, so let's let him rest." Nepgear said with a smile as she and Louise walked up bwside Uni.

"Yeah, and it's not like he can go anywhere right now, right?" Louise added as Vert waited for the three of them by the doorway.

After a few seconds Uni nodded with the barest hint of a smile. "You're right, let's go. . . we've probably earned a bit of rest. I'm suddenly feeling really sore."

"Yeah I too, Good night brave!" Nepgear said as they left the Workshop with Vert, leaving it as its lights dimmed.

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Hours later, after what felt like an eternity of being asleep, Brave's consciousness returned and her looked around. He expected to either find the workshop dark and uninhabited, or to find Uni working with the other, Nepgear was it?

Instead he found a light on, but dim and two people standing before him in the near darkness. One was wearing green and had blonde hair, the girl from before that hadn't said much, while the other was the small pixie like person whom he recognized as an Oracle by the reverence she was spoken to before he had fallen asleep.

Both of them stood there looking at him for a few moments before the blonde spoke up.

"We need to talk,"

"Um. Okay. You're . . .Green sister, the one who killed Judge, right?" Brave asked, recalling fragments of his 'death' and the images of someone devastating Judges body with his own blade.

"Yes, my name is Louise," Louise responded simply as the sprite moved a bit forward.

"And I am the Oracle of Planeptune, you may call me Histoire."

"Um, a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry that I-"

"Don't worry about apologizing again; we get it, you're sorry." Louise interrupted Brave's words with a strange sigh, not aggravation or annoyance, but something else.

"I see. . . .Why is it so dark in here?" Brave asked as he realized that the light was not actually dim, it was non-existent and the only glow in the room was coming from the Four Mascot discs that ASIC had been after floating behind Histoire.

"It is currently 3:17 in the morning. Everyone else is asleep and will be for many hours still," Histoire explained.

It was with that information that Brave suddenly became extremely nrvous. "You . . . Are here to kill me then?"

"No we are not!" Louise said seriously as she walked over to the nearby workbench and pulled braves sword up from the side so he could see it. Then, before he could even voice his surprise, she dropped a small but violent looking hunk of metal onto the bench that Brave somehow knew immediately. It was Judges own core! "We are here to talk about . . . a plan."

"That is, a plan to deal with Magic and Avert the destruction of Gameindustri by the return of Arfoire," Histoire added seriously as she pulled out a piece of paper and unrolled it in front of her so that Brave could see it, albeit just barely.

Glancing over it, Brave began Regretting that the metal case he was inhabiting could not show expressions, because he was sure what he was feeling would make them speak up before he needed to. "This is . . "

"The reason why we need your help," Louise said as she picked up Judges Core and walked over to Brave, holding it in front of her in the strange Mascot created lighting. It made her look like some form of evil villain from old kids stories. "This is the best plan we've come up with but, it's not without its own dangers."

"Precisely. While a good plan, ultimately it relies on whether you agree to work with us on this plan to make it succeed," Histoire said as she floated down to the around Louise' shoulder height.

". . . you could just force this, why ask me?" Brave asked after a moment more of looking over what was written, and realising that they were serious.

"Because it's only fair we ask you after what you've been through. And if you decided to, you could destroy us all with this if you wished to," Louise replied darkly.

". . . Will this even work?"

"The Mascot Discs and I have gone over it thirty three times and come to the conclusion that there is only an Eleven percent chance or catastrophic failure, and a twenty two percent chance of nothing happening," Histoire said analytically. "We believe it should work."

"I can Help Uni and the rest of you Fix this?"

"Yes,"

" . . . . What do you need me to do?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors note: Alright, you've all been waiting for this chapter for a while, so here it is; the end of the Rebirth 2 arc. There'll be an Author note at the bottom with more in depth stuff I need to say.**

 **So you can start reading now!**

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The Remaining days till Arfoire declared she would return and attack went by quickly. The CPU's tried to think up plans to defeat her with Histoire, while the Candidates all hung out and tried to help when they could, or did their own things; mostly hanging with Brave, talking with him, and helping build new pieces of armour. They also tried to help their sister's calm down when things seemed to get too much for them. This was down by talking, hanging with them, and Verts idea of having them all dress up as maids.

"Wait waaaah!" Louise shrieked as the fluttery hem of her long skirt snagged on the edge of a counter, causing her to fall forward onto the floor, throwing the box of cookies she had been carrying into the air so she could catch herself.

Which only went partially well as only Nepgear and Uni seemed to be able to balance on the absurdly tall heels she had gotten for all of them.

"Goodness, are you okay Louise?" Nepgear asked as she rushed around the chair, only to find Louise lying there covered in cookie pieces with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'm fine. . . I still don't understand how all your HDD's can fight in heels though. These infernal things are ridiculous!"

"They're, not that bad. They just take some getting used to," Nepgear said in a sorry tone as she offered Louise a hand and helped her up.

"Yes, they are not bad as long as you control your steps. Why'd you have to throw everything all over the floor though?" Uni asked as she walked over with a broom and dustpan. "Couldn't you have dropped them on a table or something?"

"There was nothing nearby to do that! The only thing I could do was put it under me maybe, but that would have hurt, and broken more of them."

"Why would it hurt?" Uni asked in confusion, making Louise scowl at her even as she swept up the broken cookies.

"I don't have balloons on my chest," Louise deadpanned as she nodded to Nepgear in thanks and picked up the box, ignoring Uni's shocked expression.

"Wha- that's not! My chest is not-" Uni tried to speak up, unable to easily from the shock.

"Well, I can kind of see it," Nepgear suddenly said quietly to Uni as she moved closer to her. "She's about between IF and 5PB, so not that big."

"Well, I guess so. Doesn't mean she needs to make her jealousy that apparent," Uni said back.

"You know I can hear you both still, right?" Louise deadpanned again as she walked back deeper into the kitchen and placed the box of cookies on the counter, hearing their broken pieces clatter about in the box. With a heavy sigh Louise grabbed another box and pulled it down from the shelf and placed it before her, only to blankly stare at it for a few seconds.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that I just-" Uni began, until Louise cut her off.

"No, that's not the problem. I'm used to it, now and from the past."

"You mean your past life right?" Nepgear asked as she walked up beside Louise. "What's wrong then?"

"I'm just, worried. Our sisters haven't really come up with anything, and the date that Magic said she'd attack is tomorrow. Yet we're standing around in servant outfits and high heels. Even if a plan hasn't been revealed, we should be training."

"Well, I do agree," Uni said with a resigned sigh. "But resting is important to, and because of it our sisters are almost at full strength!"

"I suppose but . . . I guess I just don't like waiting when I know we've got a hard fight coming."

"Yeah, I get that. But there's not much we can do but wait," Uni said as she sat down at the table In the kitchen, the sounds of their sisters, and of Ram and Rom, Histoire and If and Compa echoed out of the living room.

"Well . . . why don't we just talk for a bit then? You twisted your ankle a bit right?" Nepgear asked Louise, making her twitch.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Damn heels," Louise grumbled as Nepgear walked over to the Table with Uni and beckoned Louise to join them. "I'm sure our sisters can deal with us having some time of our own for a bit," Louise said with a resigned sigh as she came over and sat on as well. "What should we talk about though?"

"Well, that's a good question," Uni said as she pondered the idea for a few seconds before smiling. "I know, how about you tell us a bit more about your previous life?" Uni suggested, her tone suggesting it would be good for a laugh.

"Uni, that's not very-"

"Sure, that's fine," Louise suddenly said with a shrug. "What do you want to hear?"

"Oh, uh, err, well, you told us your home had no real technology and had magic, but not much else," Uni said meekly, not expecting Louise's reply. "You had told us how you had um. . . . Your fear, I mean. You had told us that too."

"You told us that you had been a magician, and why you had gone into the forest too," Nepgear spoke up as she placed her elbow on the table and leaned forward. "Can you maybe tell us about the world itself?"

Louise looked at Nepgear and nodded. "I guess so. . . .Where to start though?"

"Maybe the countries?" Uni suggested. "I mean, they weren't run by Goddesses or anything like that, where they?"

"No," Louise said with a shake of her head. "No. where I lived, the continent was called Halkeginia and there were five countries within it. Tristain, Germania, Gallia, Romalia and Albion. I was in Tristain, a country in the centre of the land that was the home of the magic academy for most nobility on the continent. Germania is a land to the north, cold and wild. Its people are violent and lustful, with women who take what they want with their wits and bodies, and men who do the same through strength. Albion is a land that floats above the oceans, and Romalia was the centre of the continents primarily religion, the Brimiric faith."

"What about that Gallia place?" Nepgear asked in curiosity.

"It was south of Tristain, but I don't know much about it. Albion had good relations with Tristain and has a well-respected ruler. Germania always had temperamental relations with other nations, but especially with Romalia as they are not as religious as the rest of the countries."

"So Romalia was like one big church then?" Uni asked.

"Yes. It is ruled by the pope of the Brimiric faith, while Tristain, Gallia, Albion and Germania are monarchies ruled by their royal families."

"So just the reagents rule the countries then? Isn't that inefficient? I mean, that's a lot of work, right? Even our sister and us have the Oracles and clerks that help out in the Basilicom."

"No. I'm not sure about Germania, but I know that Tristain, Gallia and Albion have a sort of, noble caste system I guess. Under the monarch are nobles of varying ranks. The higher their rank, the more land they own, and they have to keep the peace in their lands. They gather taxes from the people that live under them, and some of those taxes go to the kingdom. The rest are supposed to be use to better that land."

"Supposed to?" Uni asked, noting the words use and how it seemed like Louise stressed it.

"Yes, it was a rather common rumor, of many noble families who would gather money and hoard it only to better them, leaving the common folk to live in squalor and unprotected wilderness."

"Wait, you mean, the people that are not nobles suffer because of the nobles?"

"It was rumored often, yes. I never saw it myself, but there were stories, many of them, so I'm sure many commoners did suffer from such nobility, otherwise there would not be as many rumors as there were."

"But, there would have to be some that acted as they supposed to, right?" Nepgear asked, sounding hopeful.

"There were, yes. My family, aside from being impossibly strict, and my mother showing little of anything vaguely resembling care, was well respected by the commoners. My old sisters, mother and father, they would deal with monster of bandits in their territory themselves, not bothering with even mobilizing their guards to deal with it."

"So they dealt with monsters like we do sometimes then." Uni said simply, eliciting a nod from Louise.

"Yes but, while my sisters did it out of care, I think my mother and father did it because they did not trust the strength of the guards, or wanted to keep reminding people of their power. They were respected, but rules in their territory were rigid, as rigid for the common folk as their own children. The Vallière family was the highest ranked noble family under the queen, with the duchess known as the heavy wind, who was supposedly capable of sundering whole mountains with wind magic. . . . The more I think about it, the more I start to think that maybe there was no problems in their territory because people were afraid of her."

"Just because she's strong? Wouldn't that make them feel safe?" Nepgear asked.

"No," Louise said as she shook her head. "In Halkeginia, nobles and kings, those with magic were superior and it was the common belief that those without magic served those with it. Because of that, and the words of the church, I know that a lot of common folk considered nobles to be existences above them. Few if any would ever think of gong against them. Respect and fear are different things, but can often work in the same way."

"Damn, that sounds messed up," Uni muttered. "I've had people embarrassed to meet me, seen people thanking my sister over and over again. I've even seen awe in some people's eyes, but because we live with people and walk among them, I've never seen people actually be afraid of our power. That's just, messed up!"

"Yeah, it probably is. Compared to here, the people are held in check by power they have no access to. Most simply toil for the nobility. They listen to whatever they demand, and in case of a war are conscripted as foot soldiers to likely be killed my magic they have no protection agasint."

"Conscripted, so they have no choice?" Uni asked in surprise.

"No, not really."

"Does that land not have anything like the guild?" Nepgear then asked hopefully, seeming to feel bad for the common people.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I remember hearing that some commons would become mercenaries and the like, but I don't think there's anything like the guild, at least nothing so well made and organized."

"Goodness that sounds, really dark and sad for the people!" Nepgear said.

"Yeah . . . . . . Would make a good setting for a dark fantasy game though," Uni muttered off handily, earning a small smirk from Louise that surprised her. "What's that smile for?"

"Well honestly, as much as I prefer this life over my old one, I don't want to fully forget my old one. I've been thinking that I should try making a game, since they are the main thing for, well everything, and that it could be a good way to remember it. But I don't really have the skills to make a game myself, even with the programs people have put out to make it easy. I'm just not technically oriented enough."

"Wait, are you suggesting-"

"We make it together?!" Nepgear interrupted Uni, too happy about what was being insinuated to contain herself.

"Well, I guess," Louise said in embarrassment a she looked to the side. "I can't do it myself and, I'd like to be with you all more often anyway so . . . . Um, please, once were done with ASIC maybe?"

Nepgear may as well have been glowing with how happy she looked as she leapt at Louise and hugged her. "Of course we'll help! And making a game among friends would be a great idea! Right Uni?"

"Ah, well, uhm, I guess I could, I mean, I suppose I'll help you, since you asked so nicely," Uni said nervously as she avoided both Louise and Nepgear's gazes.

"Thank you," Louise said softly as she leaned back, finding that Nepgear was still hugging her, tightly. "Um, Nepgear, can you let go now please?"

"Oh, sorry I was just so happy I-" Nepgear said as she let go, getting interrupted by IF suddenly rushing into the room.

"I don't know what you girls are doing in here but get changed and get ready! I just got a message Saying Magic has been sighted at where she said she'd appear!"

"What? But that's supposed to be tomorrow!" Nepgear said in surprise.

"And you honestly expected her to do as she said?" Uni mumbled with a sigh.

"Exactly, everyone else is getting ready and meeting on the balcony to fly over there in five minutes, so get ready!" IF exclaimed as she then ran off, disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.

"Ugh, so much for finishing Brave's combat armour so he could help us, Dammit!" Uni scowled as she ran off, Nepgear following after her saying something about telling Brave.

Louise left the kitchen to find the living room empty, and quickly went to the room she and Vert had been using while hanging in Planeptune, only to find Vert coming out of it, looking elegant and Regal as she always did.

"Oh good, IF told you!" Vert said warmly, though her tone was not as happy as it normally would be.

"Yes, I'll get changed and meet everyone at the balcony. I won't let her win!"

"I know, but please don't let yourself get hurt. I don't want to see my darling sister injured."

"Follow that yourself before making me promise something like that," Louise said with a snarky grin a she pulled off the maid outfit, thanking the fact that Compa made them simple one piece outfits, and then threw on her regular clothing. Before leaving the room she walked over to the desk and swiped a couple of bottles, mostly healing and energy drinks, and slipped them into her pockets so they'd be in her inventory even when she entered HDD.

Turning back to the door and finding Vert already gone Louise move to the door, intending to head straight to the balcony, only for Histoire to fly into the room and slam the door shut with a small burst of energy from her wings. Her expression was grim and exhausted, prompting Louise to stay quiet and let Histoire gather herself before speaking.

"It's too soon," Histoire said angrily, her voice nonetheless very quiet.

"Can it still be done though?" Louise asked quietly.

"It can, but I need at least three hours to complete it I believe."

"It takes about an hour to fly to where she is, so-"

"So when you get there, I'll need you all to hold out for three hours. Two for me to complete it, and a third for them to arrive," Histoire quickly explained.

"That's . . . . A lot of time to hold her for," Louise said, clearly worried as he hands clenched into fists.

"I know that you all can do it, but I do believe it will be close. If she has any tricks it may become dangerous."

"It's already dangerous . . . but I think I have an idea. Hopefully I won't need it," Louise said as she walked up to Histories side, facing the door.

"What is it?" Histoire asked carefully.

Louise mouthed the words instead of saying it; just in case someone was listening to them talk. They had kept everything a secret this far; there was no point in worrying anyone before the big reveal.

Histoire however, simply stared at Louise with her mouth wide open. "You can't. Vert would never forgive you, or me! No one would."

"It's a last resort," Louise said quietly, a tear forming at the corner of her eye closest to Histoire and slipping down her face. "I'll be heading out with everyone now."

"Alright," Histoire said as she turned and followed Louise out of the room silently.

A minute later the two of them arrived at the Balcony to find everyone but Uni and Nepgear waiting, nervous and impatient.

"Ah good you're here, now we just need Nepgear and Uni and we can go," IF said seriously.

"Alright! IF's coming with us to bring the pain!" Neptune declared with a jump, almost putting herself over the railing.

"Of course I'm coming with!" IF declared seriously. "Even if I can't fight magic head on, there will be something I can do to help. Compa texted I saying she and 5PB will meet us there as well."

"So everyone will be there," Louise said quietly, then noticing Ram and Rom staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"We should ask that to you!" Ram exclaimed loudly as she pointed at Louise.

"Uh huh, you don't look so good. Are you okay Miss Louise?" Rom asked in worry.

"No, I'm just nervous, that's all," Louise said, trying to hide her worry. Only for Vert to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it will be fine. We may only have a part of a plan, but it is better than nothing."

"Yeah, if all else fails we'll just keep beating her down until she gives up!" Blanc then declared, her eyes flashing red for just a second making Rom and Ram shy away a bit.

"Yes, but we are wasting time that we don't have. Where are our sisters?" Noire asked in annoyance, just as the sound of running feet began to be heard.

"Sorry we're late!" Nepgear yelled as she and Uni ran out from a hall and came into view. "We had to Tell Brave of what was going on.

"And stop him from trying to come with us. Even with his legs disconnected he tried to crawl after us,"

"Uh yeah, no! I don't trust that bucket of bolts," Blanc grumbled.

"Well if his legs are inactive he cannot get in the way. He may seem on our side, but we will have to see when we return," Vert said with a smile.

Both Uni and Nepgear soured at Vert and Noire's words, but said nothing. All their sisters kept making it clear that they did not like the fact Brave was alive, or that they had rebuilt him to the extent that they had.

"Alrighty then Ladies, lets head out and kick some Magic!" Neptune declared s she leapt up over the balcony and transformed into her HDD. "Well then, shall we head out?"

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The field where Magic had given their ultimatum had been a nice place barely a week before. Now, it was a field of charred grass, craters, and arcing energy and magic. And the Goddesses had only just arrived. Scattered among the edges of the field were dozens of Guild agents, many being dragged away by 5pb and other volunteers, while they were then being tended to by Compa and an entourage of medics. In the centre of the chaos stood Magic, looking bored and annoyed even as the goddesses and candidates landed, all in HDD and ready.

"It's about time you arrived! I got so bored waiting for you I just had to end this farce early!" Magic said haughtily.

"Nepgear, you and the other Candidates help IF get the guild agent out of the way. Once you are done, then join us," Purple Heart stated as she, White heart, black heart and green heart began walking toward Magic.

"Right, c'mon!" Purple sister replied quickly as she and the other candidates flew in different direction to do just as asked.

"Oh? Sending the little ones away so I kill you in peace? How thoughtful!" Magic said with a chuckle as she watched the Goddesses take out their weapons. "Truly, do you think you have any chance against me? I beat you once; I can easily do it again!"

"No, this time, we'll be the ones to destroy you!" White heart declared as she burst forward, hammer raised to slam down. Right behind her the other goddess flew forward as well, and explosions of power and skills began echoing out from the field.

"Damn, they really are going all out!" Black sister muttered as she flew over a pair of guild agents over to a nearby medic, just as Green sister did as well.

"They have to be, but we have to hurry up," Green sister said as she placed down a man on a patch of miraculously green grass. A second later a blast of wind passed them, causing bandages to flutter and scatter.

After quite a while of ferrying the wounded, and realizing that every guild agent in Planeptune must have come here, Black sister and Green sister found themselves at the edge of the field. "Well, we've almost got them all I think," Black sister said as she glanced at the battlefield. Their sisters were all fighting Magic at once, and had been for a while. Using attrition tactics they were hitting her two at a time, swapping out at a moment's notice, or taking advantage of blind spots to harass her. It was less a straight up fight than it was a complete mockery of her skill. But it was keeping her at bay.

It just wasn't making it clear if either group was wining.

"We still need to hurry. They must be getting tired by now!" Louise said seriously as the sound of Green hearts Rainy Ratnapura echoed out over the field, making a couple nearby medics twitch in worry.

"C-can they win?" one medic asked nervously.

"Of course they can!" 5PB said as she walked up, carrying a guild agent and setting him down with a smile. "After all, now that almost everyone is safe, the Candidates can now step up and help!" 5PB declared as she looked to Black sister and green sister and smiled. "Go get them!"

"Oh, we will!" Green sister said with a vindictive grin as her spears slid out of her gauntlets and she snatched them with frightful speed.

"Right!" Black sister agreed as her gun appeared in hand as she and green turned around and began dashing across the grass toward the fight. "You think the others have finished?"

"They should have soon. . . . . . . .How long have our sisters been fighting for?" Green sister suddenly asked stopping just shy of the battlefield and looking at Black sister with her usual stoic expression.

"Ugh, maybe an hour?" Black sister guessed uncertainly.

"No, exactly how long?" Green sister pressed.

"Uh, one sec," Black sister said as she brought up a screen, and then quickly got rid of it. "One hour and twelve minutes. Why though?"

Green sister visibly scowled, like she was annoyed or impatient about something. "Dammit, we need more time. We need to get over there and help our sisters now! We need to keep Magic at Bay!"

"I know that, but we need to get Nepgear and-"

"Then you get them and come back me up!" Green sister yelled as she took off toward the battle, leaving Black sister along and confused.

Bursting into the field of battle Green sister saw Green heart and white heart holding back away from Magic, While Purple heart and Black heart were double teaming her with their swords. They were holding her at bay, blocking her strike, and delivering their own, but each of their strikes was deflected as well, and they had only managed to hit her a couple of times.

It was a stalemate, plain and simple.

So Green sister partly landed between her sister and White heart, and tapped them both on the shoulders after letting her spears disappear. "Tag out," she said, just as she then propelled past them, spears reappearing in her hands. Before her sister or white heart could say a word she was right beside magic, who's weapon was blocking Black Hearts blade, and thrust her Spear up, right into Magic's right rib.

"Wha-" "What in-" Purple Heart and Black Heart said at once, while Magic simply slowly looked down at Green sister in shock. Which quickly turned to rage.

"How dare you touch my skin you vile insect of-" Magic began to say as she raised her weapon, only for Green sister to twist her body, and swung her other spear right into her side, swatting her off the spear tip. " Why you insolent-" Magic yelled as she stopped herself from going more than a meter, only for Black hear to jump right in her face and force her to block her blade.

"Don't forget about us!" Black Sister yelled as she Shot at Magic from behind, forcing her to move to the side to dodge, right into the path of Purple Sisters blade.

"Ah!" Magic yelled out n surprise as she stumbled, collected herself and then blocked Purple sisters second strike as the Goddesses all stepped back a bit. "Do you honestly think you can win! I beat your sisters and I'll beat all of you just as easily!"

"No, you won't!" Green sister said coolly as she moved forward, Spears flicking and swinging with dangerous speed and strength in the swings that made no sense to have them. Dodging just the spear swings would have been easy enough, but from the other side Purple sister was attacking, alternating between her blade and its gun, while Black sister was taking pot-shots from a distance.

The combination was dangerous and as soon as one of Black Sisters shots grazed Magic's shoulder she leapt in to the air to get some distance. Only for a horrendous blast of wind to slam her back down, and a vehicle sized chunk of ice to crash into her as well.

"We're here to help!" Ram exclaimed as she and Rom came running out of the tree's, staves at the ready.

"Uh huh, we'll do our, best." Rom added with a nod.

The ice on the ground shattered apart as Magic broke out with a scream and lunged at the twins, only for a laser blast to strike her back and stagger her, allowing Green Sister and Purple Sister to get back into the melee.

"Uh, is it just me, or are they doing better than we were?" Black Heart asked uncertainly as she and Purple Heart moved over to where White and green were standing.

"It does appear that way," Green Heart said with a curious hum.

"Yeah but, why?" White Heart asked. "I know there are five of them, but that shouldn't make that much of a difference!"

"It's not their numbers," IF said as she and 5PB walked over, both looking very tired, but proud. "All guild agents are safe now."

"Good, thank you IF," Purple Heart said warmly. "It's their bond, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's a good guess. You all still remember fighting each other and still want to appear better, even if it's just subconscious," IF said without a hint of worry. "They are friends though, real friends, they fight, and are still okay with it."

"IF, I feel like you are insulting us a tad, no? We are friends as well, yes?" Green heart pressed.

"Yes, but not the same kind. You were once enemies, but they never were. They had issues, troubles and difficulties, but they are all friends, and trust each other perfectly, even if they don't always show it. I'd say that's Nepgears greatest power. Not going HDD, or her skills, but her ability to make friends!"

"Awfully sappy way of knocking us down a peg," White heart grumbled, making IF blush.

"Ugh, well I mean . . . . I guess."

5PB giggled a bit as she pulled out her Guitar and smiled. "I'll get ready to start some songs to keep you all going! It's the least I could do since you need to hold out!"

"Thank you 5PB," Vert said with a smirk. "I'm sure my sister will be happy to hear your support!"

"Ah, uh, right. . . I'll just set up a speaker!" 5PB said as she then ran off, making Black heart and IF both smirk.

"Oh, I didn't realize," Black heart said, noting White Heart and Purple Hearts confused looks.

"I did," IF Said with a smile. "They both have reasons to hide it though. She's quiet when not on stage, and Louise is, well her issues are very different than anyone else's."

"That is true, but my sister is working hard through them!" Green heart said proudly as she looked back to see her sister and purple sister holding Magic back very effectively.

"Well I guess. . . . I think we should get ready to switch with them. Your sister's seem to be okay, but mine are tiring." White heart said, clearly worried for her twin sisters, who were casting spells slightly slower, and whose wings were glowing slightly less.

"That sounds good to me!" Black heart declared as she began floating in the air and then propelled forward to the combat. "Switch!"

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Nepgears workshop glowed in baleful light that would have panicked any who would see it. In the centre stood Brave's body, his sword, and Judge's core, and around him on five sides were Histoire and the four mascot discs. Each glowed with a light of their own color, White, Green, black, purple and gold, and symbols and energies radiated around them.

"Everyone left to fight magic exactly half an hour ago and we are now prepared to begin," Histoire said seriously. "Are you ready, Brave?"

Braves Expressionless, metallic and mechanical face looked at Histoire blankly, small lines where a mouth would be glowing as he spoke. "I am, but are you truly okay with this?"

"Why do you ask?" Histoire asked back.

"I – I did bad things. I was wrong in what I had chosen to do. I did far more harm than good, and may have endangered everyone, every man, woman, parent, and child with my actions. Are you sure you want to entrust this to me off all people?"

Histoire let out a long, almost cute sounding sigh. "No, I do not truly wish to, I do not fully believe that we can trust you, but I also realize that the Goddesses have not allowed or given you a chance to show you wish to change. Uni and Nepgear believe you wish to do well. Even Louise, who is far from my most favorite person and is generally brash and sharp to be near in my opinion, acted to give you this chance. It was she who came up with much of this plan, I merely cleaned it up a bit."

"What?" Brave asked in surprise. "Didn't she herself say she had little to no mechanical experience though?"

"She did, and does not, but what we are about to undertake is more magic that mechanic in nature. Despite her unwillingness to show it, she has just as much skill in magic as Rom or Ram, perhaps more. She just absolutely refuses to use it, or show it to any of them. If her past is true, then her history with it is not good."

"Her history with magic?"

"Let us just say that she hates magic for reasons you would not fathom unless you asked her yourself and saw her reactions," Histoire said. "Despite that, she worked on this to give you this chance. So I ask you again, one who was once CFW Brave, are you ready to go through with this?"

Brave made a hard sound, like when someone swallowed in nervousness, but not quite the same due to his lack of throat. Now that he knew just how much had gone into this, how much trust he was being given, he could not falter. "I was once known as CFW Brave of ASIC. To undo my mistakes and earn forgiveness, from Gameindustri, from the people, from the children, from Miss Rom and Ram, from Miss Nepgear and Louise, and from Miss UNi, I will do whatever must be done! I am ready!"

Histoire nodded with a respectful smile that caught Brave off guard. "Then there is nothing else to ask. Know that if you betray us though, I will do everything in my power to make your existence the meaning of suffering!"

"You will not need to. For I would never betray the respect and trust I have been shown! I would not abandon the chance I have been given!" Brave declared, his voice booming in the room.

"Then let us begin!" Histoire declared as she and the Mascot discs all began spinning around Brave, faster and faster until they became a rainbow of color that made him surprised they were not getting dizzy. Energy arced from their ring, to him, making him tense as pain thrashed through his body, inconceivable even compared to when he was destroyed by Judge. Then it arced to toward his sword and Judges core, then back to him, and the pain became so bad all he could do was scream louder than his vocal box would allow, breaking it into a garbled nose of mechanical horror.

Then everything turned white.

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Purple sister groaned as she was knocked backwards, prompting her and the other candidates sisters to jump in and allow the candidates a rest. It was coming up on three hours straight that they had been fighting Magic, and aside from the one stab wound that Green sister had dealt, it was not going well.

Only their sisters had managed to damage her at all since then, and they had only been scrapes and the like or slight damage to her armour and gear. She was tiring visibly now, but the more tired she got, the more ferocious her attacks became as she grew more and more angry. Coupled with the fact that everyone was getting close to their limit, even with 5PB's music amplifying their strength and endurance, it was not good.

"Dammit, if I could just wound her again," Green sister complained angrily as she stood nearby, partly bent over and using a spear to steady herself. She had the highest stamina of any of the Candidates, but Her HDD was not light either. Still, the fact that she looked tired was worrisome. How much longer could they keep doing this?

"Ugh, damn, we're just tiring ourselves out!" Black sister groaned as she looked at her rifle, covered in nicks and dirt, and sighed. "I thought this plan of tiring her out to be captured that our sisters came up with would work!"

"How long . . . how long have we been doing this?" Green sister asked tiredly as she took out a NepBull and began chugging it down.

"Uh, almost for three hours now I think. Maybe more," Purple sister answered as she and Black sister took out their last NepBulls and drank them as well. They needed the energy, even if it wasn't perfect.

Suddenly Green sister smiled in a way that did not suit her HDD. "Good! We need to get back in there then!" She declared as she pulled her one spear out of the ground and twirled it, suddenly brimming with confidence.

"What? But we need to rest!" Black sister exclaimed.

"Yes, our sisters are holding Magic so we can rest and then hold her so they can!" Purple sister said next.

"Yeah, did you forget the plan already? We tire Magic out, and then capture her so Arfoire is not unleashed!"

"I know, but now we have a better plan," Green sister said coolly as she tightened her grip on her spear. We need to push Magic to the brink, keep her totally focused on just us and nothing else!"

"We're already doing that! What did you think we we've harassing her for our health?" Black sister exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing.

"No. we've been trying to tire her out, and it's probably clear to her that we are not doing this to kill her. We need to make her go all out, focus on us, think we're out to kill her!" Green sister said as she took a couple steps forward back toward the battle. Only for Purple sister to step in front of her.

"Why?" Purple sister asked calmly.

Green sister, even in her more mature and serious looking HDD, glanced to the side. "Because this is the plan. The plan Histoire and I came up with. Our sister's plan just coincided with it," She admitted.

"Wait, you came up with another plan? Why didn't Histoire say anything?" Black sister asked curiously, also sounding irked.

"We . . . agreed it needed to be kept secret. Our sisters would never agree with it, and we worried, that you might act differently if you knew," Green sister admitted, sounding thoroughly ashamed. "It was the best thing we could come up with, but it had . . . has, a chance of going horribly wrong."

"Wait, what?" Purple sister said in shock. "What, did you do?"

Instead of answering, Green sister's wings appeared behind her and began gathering energy until they began pulsing and vibrating with life. Before anyone could react she shot up into the air, stopped high above, and pointed her spear toward Magic. And threw it!

The spear flew true, but was caught in Magic's peripheral vision, allowing her to swat it out of the air, only to open hr up to an attack by Vert, who sliced her back shallowly. "You foolish little-" Magic began to say as he glanced upwards to where Green sister had been, only to see her dive-bombing her, her other spear in both hands and glowing red.

"Explosive Onslaught!" Green sister roared as she flew down and crashed against Magic, their weapons colliding to stop the dive-bomb. Green sister rolled through the air over Magic and turned, her spear flashing at her as quickly as possible, though Magic managed to block each blow with her Scythe's blade of shaft.

"Finally decided to start trying did you?" Magic mocked as she noticed the force behind Green sister's blows. They were stronger than before, and she had a glint of hate in her eyes. But it still would not be enough! "Too bad it won't be enough! Ice Impulse!" Magic roared as she suddenly threw her hand forward, creating an expanding wall of ice that knocked Green sister and the on looking very surprised Goddesses backwards. "See, you have no chance!"

"Don't I? Implosion!" Green sister yelled with a cool grin.

Magic looked at her in confusion until the sound of bending metal made her turn around, to see the spear in the ground behind her, bending painfully as it glowed. Then exploded. The explosion threw her forward, and Green sister immediately used the chance by raising her spear. "Void lance!" Black energy shot out from the tip of her spear and impaled Magic in the air, sending her backwards again.

When she neared the ground however, her damaged wings shimmered, and she righted herself, landing on her feet with an expression of utter and complete hatred. "Now you have done it, girl! I figured I'd play along with your farce and tire you all out before I killed you, but now I'll kill you so quickly you can't even beg for mercy!" Magic screamed as she rushed at Green sister, only for the goddess to get in the way.

"I don't think so!" Purple Heart declared as she was suddenly in front of Magic, her blade swinging right at her.

Magic leapt backwards, then rolled to the side narrowly dodging White hearts hammer, and looked completely done with everything. "I will deal with you fools later! Toy with these while I slaughter your sisters!" Her yelled as she pulled out a stack of discs and tossed them into the air. The discs shimmered and then exploded, depositing an assortment of monsters in the field around Magic. Tanks, Fenrir's and three killachines that glowed with malevolent energy!

"Oh Crap!" White heart yelled as a Killachine rushed her and Green heart, while another went after Purple Heart and Black Heart. The tanks and Fenrir's instantly scattered, intent on causing chaos, and Magic used that chance to fly into the air and rush as Green sister.

"Explosive Onslaught!" Green sister yelled s she was suddenly in front of Magic, striking out with her spear.

"Ha, you think such shallow attacks can hurt me!" Magic mocked as she deflected ach blow for nearly a minute before suddenly knocking Green sister's spear out of her hand and then kicking her square in the chest. "You are pathetic! Did you really think you could touch me like that?"

"I was not, aiming for you," Green sister said with a grin as she sat up.

"What?" Magi said, just before all the scratches on her scythe began to glow and then exploded, in a chain of deafening bangs that ended with the sound of sundering metal. As the smoke dissipated it became clear that nearly eighty Percent of the length of Magic's scythe had been blown apart, leaving her with little more than a bludgeon at the end of the shaft. She glared at her weapon, then turned to look at Green sister, her expression darkening. "You will die the most painful of deaths!"

"Bring it on!" Green sister roared as she got up, forming a spear out of each gauntlet right as she rushed at Magic.

"Ice impulse!" Magic roared, creating the blast of ice and forcing Green sister to leap backwards to doge it. Only for a Fenrir to crash into her from behind and throw her back into the ice. "Fool, I have an army of monsters at my command, did you think I would not use them!" Magic roared as she flew up and landed on the ground right before the downed Green sister, swinging her damaged Scythe at her, each blow enough to crack the ground underneath Green sister even as she blocked them.

"You, will, not win!" Green sister groaned as she tried to get up, but could not from the force of each of Magic's blows. Then as Magic threw an upward swing, both of her spears broke at once, and Magic grinned vilely as she twirled the scythe and then brought it down towards Green sister once more.

"Louise!" Green heart yelled in horror from where she was, being blocked by a Killachine and unable to help.

The sound of metal striking metal echoed out away from Green sister, and Magic looked down in confusion as she saw 5PB standing between them, her Guitar being held in both hands like an axe and blocking Magic's weapon. "What, do you think you are doing?" Magic asked, her tone displeased and vibrating with hate.

"Protecting my friend!" 5PB declared as she, much to Magic's surprised pushed her weapon up and away from her.

"Wait, no Lyrica get back!" Green sister yelled as she tried to get up off the ground, a second too late.

With her weapon pushed up into the air Magic simply swung it around and right into 5PB knocking her backwards right into Green sister, the two of them skidding across the ground for a few meters before stopping.

"Lyrica!" Green sister yelled as she got up and looked to see 5PB lying on the ground, unmoving. She tried to move over to her, only to wince at what felt like a very bad sprained ankle. Or it was now broken, when everything hurt it was hard to tell.

"Are you done crawling about like the maggots you are?" Magic asked as she walked over, the blade of her scythe reforming to its full length and sharpness. "That is all you are after all, maggots not worthy of seeing the glory of my goddess, or me!"

"Then, I guess it's Deicide after all," Green sister said with a strange smile as Magic raised her scythe above her head to strike down the wounded and immobile candidate.

Suddenly, all noise in the entire field stopped, as did all of the monsters. Magic, whose face had been full of rage, enjoyment and pleasure, was suddenly full of nothing but shock and confusion. Her eyes and mouth were wide as she looked down, gazing at the steel coming out of her chest. It was a wide bladed broad sword, its metal the brightest of white with a gold ridge down the middle and its edge as red as blood. And it was coming out of her chest, right between her breasts, the edge going from her collarbone down to the bottom of her ribcage.

Standing behind her, gripping the impressively long, five foot blade, was a woman. She was slightly taller than the other candidates and had short red hair with a single golden bang partly over her left eye. She was wearing a simple and loose hip length Tabard of white with gold edging over her torso, and a knee length skirt of the same color and design. Her legs and arms were covered in light white colored armour plates with the same colored edging, and over the tunic round her neck was a Golden shawl with Red edging, held in place by a large metal Clasp of gold shaped like a roaring lion. Her eyes glowed red with a hint of gold, and her expression was mournful, but also steeled and ready.

"You lied to me, about helping the children," The young woman, who looked not dissimilar from a female paladin or crusader, said as she leaned forward, placing her free left hand, which had a full blown gauntlet complete with claws on it, on Magic's shoulder in a vice grip. "All you were after was your own ambitions. You had no intention of helping anyone, but yourself!"

"Who in Arfoire's name are-" Magic began to say as she tried to turn and look at the seemingly unfamiliar woman.

The Red head let go of Magic's shoulder with her clawed hand and then instead grabbed the back of her skull, pulling her head back and leaning forward so Magic could see her face, and the radiant anger within her eyes. "Do not speak that monsters name! In that name I committed atrocities, convinced by you that we were somehow helping the children!"

"Holy, is that Brave?!" Black sister exclaimed in surprise, making everyone realize who it was that stood before them, impaling Magic and seemingly make her unable to act or command her monsters, who still stood as still as statues.

"Impossible, you died!" Magic managed to say, prompting Brave to pull Magics head back further.

"No, but I was rebuilt, and then reborn through the will of the nations, and those who put their trust in me. Reborn, to stop you."

"Then kill me," Magic said with a grin. "I still win either way!"

"No, not now you do not!" Brave declared as she pushed her broadsword deeper into Magic's chest cavity. At that moment, a flash of golden light erupted away from her, like an aura of Glowing light that fluttered around her. Her sword suddenly disappeared, and she thrust her right hand into the gaping hole in Magic's body, gripping a sphere of dark malevolent energy that was suddenly there and pulling it out of magic before closing her hand, the dark energy disappearing into it. With a blast of light Magic was thrown away, and Brave fell to her knees as purple arcs of energy shot away from her hand for a few seconds before subsiding. "With this, I bear the weight of my sins, and hold within me the seals of Gameindusti's demise. To never again be released!"

Everyone stared at Brave, not even noticing the monsters, killachines included, disappear into blasts of data around them.

"Wait, what just happened?" Black heart asked after a second of silence.

"I, am not quite sure actually," Green heart said calmly.

"It looked as if she took something from Magic," Purple Heart said as she and the other Goddesses flew over.

"Yeah, but what?" White Heart said as the four of them landed to the one side of brave, weapons out and ready.

"He, I mean she, took the Seal from her," Green sister said as she crawled over to 5PB and looked her over, giving a sigh of thanks when 5PB let out a cough.

"OW," 5PB groaned as she looked at Green sister, just as her HDD broke and she turned back to Louise. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, I should've moved faster," Louise said as she hugged 5PB, leaving the goddess, and other candidates as they walked over, staring in confusion.

"Louise, I believe you will need to explain what you just said," Green heart said calmly, though her voice was a little bit strained, as if holding herself back from saying something, or yelling.

"She means, that I forcibly stole the Seal that keeps Arfoire locked away, from Magic, and put it within myself." Brave said as she tried to stand up, only to fall back to one knee. "I now, now have three of the original four seals within this new body."

"Yes, and with three of them intact, Arfoires power will not leak out into Gameindustri, nor will there be a danger of her being released anytime soon!" Histoire said in her usual high pitched voice as he floated down from above into the midst of the Goddesses and candidates.

"Wait. Histoire, I believe we have missed something," Green heart said seriously. "I understand that this is supposedly CFW Brave, but how exactly did he go from a large Mecha to a cute girl on par with our dear sisters?"

"Yeah, and what's this about the seals being inside of her? Isn't that dangerous?!" White heart yelled as the candidates all gathered around Louise and 5PB, Black sister passing them both a potion each.

"To explain the situation in its entirety; Louise and I acted upon a plan she conceived with some of my assistance, to Recreate Brave into a person, and have the Seals inhabit a single body. The seals were in the cores of CFW Judge, Trick, Magic and Brave, and she managed to salvage Judges core at the same time as finding Braves sword."

"Wait, you mean, the two of you had a plan going on behind all of our backs?" Uni said in anger as she Left her HDD and glared down at Louise. "WHY!?"

"We believed that it was best kept secret due to the nature of the plan," Histoire spoke up for Louise. "We utilized both the power of the four mascot discs, much of my own tech, and various magic to recreate Brave and allow him to do this. Considering that if Magic died, the seal would break, we felt it was the best way to stop Arfoire from being released."

"But why keep it a secret from us?" Green heart asked as she and the other Goddesses released their HDD's. "After all, it does not paint either of you in the best light, and if we knew there was a more appropriate plan-"

"That was why we didn't say anything," Louise said as she tried to get up, only to fall over and be caught by Rom and Ram. "We knew that if everyone knew of the plan, everyone would fight differently, and Magic would figure that something was up. She needed to believe we had no other plan, other than to stall or tire her out."

"Yes, that is correct," Histoire said with a nod. "We also did not speak of it, because it requires giving trust to Brave; something that only Uni, Nepgear and Louise were willing to do. The rest of you would not agree to such a plan, nor using the mascot discs for such a thing."

"You're damn right we wouldn't!" Blanc yelled in a rage as she pointed her hammer at Brave. "What's to say she won't just kill herself, or even release Arfoire on her own now that she has all the seals? Hell, all it would take is her dying and Arfoire would get out! How is that better!?"

"It is better because it gives us time to find a way to protect the seals more permanently without having to worry about Arfoire escaping," Louise said with a groan as she shifted her leg to sit on her side.

"That doesn't mean we can trust her to-" Blanc continued to yell, until suddenly a blast of energy flew up into the air, and everyone turned to se Uni holding her gun Skyward, its barrel steaming.

"Enough! Brave did this to help us, and you're just standing there insulting him!"

"Her uni," Nepgear quietly corrected Uni.

"Her, right, her. Anyway, Histoire, was this something easy to do?"

Histoire shook hr head. "It was not. It required nearly a week's preparation of energy, machines, magic, and most of the Mascots discs energy. They are now in a state of hibernation that will likely stay for many years," Histoire explained, sounding sad about the fact.

"Oh," Blanc said and went quiet, unsure of what to say, prompting Noire to speak up instead.

"Fine it's done, I get it. So we lock her in a cell then?"

"Noire!" Uni yelled in a rage as she suddenly ran over between her sister and Brave. "You are not putting Brave in a cell!"

"Uni, he's dangerous!"

"He, she is not dangerous! She did it to help us!"

"She's still dangerous!" Noire pressed, seeming intent on ignoring Uni's argument.

"Have you asked Brave anything?" 5PB suddenly spoke up, still looking pretty bad as she held her stomach. She was looking a bit better after the potion though. Not much, but a bit.

"What?" Noire asked, clearly not getting it.

"I believe 5PB is asking if any of us have even considered asking Miss Brave what her intentions are," Vert figured and said quickly with an oddly soft smile.

The goddesses all looked to Brave, partially hidden behind Uni, until he spoke up. "It's alright Uni, if I am to be thrown to prison as punishment for my misdeeds, then I shall take my punishment."

"What?! No!" Uni yelled as she turned to brave."

"Uni, wait, I think she's waiting to continue!" Nepgear said, just as Uni noticed the expression on Braves face. She had a face, could express herself, and clearly looked like she did indeed have something else to say. Uni nodded slowly and stepped to the side, out of everyone way so that they could see Brave.

"I know that you do not trust me," Brave began, looking at the four goddesses, and only the four goddesses, as she spoke. "I was one of the ones responsible for taking you from your lands, from your families, and I have done terrible things all out of a misguided desire to help make people happy. I was allowed to live by Miss Uni and Miss Nepgears trust, and given this chance to redeem myself even just a small amount, by the actions and faith of Ladies Histoire and Louise. I know that, by keeping such important and dangerous seals within this form makes me a liability, and that if I need to be quarantined or imprisoned, I understand. But, I want to do what I could not. I want to make people happy, I want to protect people, and I want to make it up to Uni, to Nepgear, to all of you!"

The goddesses exchanged looks, some of uncertainty, some of respect, and some of worry. Luckily, Neptune was the first to speak up. "I like it, wadya say we give her a chance, eh ladies?"

"I believe that would be prudent," Vert said with an agreeable nod. "Though I believe to begin that some rules or regulations should be set down."

"Absolutely! She needs to be watched!" Noire demanded angrily, seeming not to be willing to argue with the others, as even Blanc looked like she was accepting of the idea to some extent.

"I am to be watched then?" Brave asked uncertainly.

"Yes!" Noire yelled at the top of her lungs, making everyone wince a bit. "At the very least you will be watched until we can see whether your actually on our side or not!"

"I see, then there is only one Action I can take to prove my point further," Brave declared as she stood up, took a step toward Uni, and then knelt down on one knee with an arm draped over it and his head down. "If you would accept Uni, I would pledge myself to your service. Your will shall be my will, your enemies my enemies, your values my values. I shall be yours to do with as you see fit in all things."

Everyone was silent for a second before IF spoke up with a chuckle. "Wow, a vow of knighthood eh?"

"Is that what it was? It sounded more like a vow of-" Nepgear began to say before IF quickly covered her mouth and shook her head at Nepgear, silencing her.

Uni simply looked at brave, face red from both embarrassment at what Nepgear had alluded to, and the fact that everyone was focused on her, and then let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Then, I accept your pledge," she said nervously, knowing that now at least Brave wouldn't be thrown in a prison for trying to help.

"Well, if that is settled, there is much else to speak of, but I think we all have earned a rest, no?"

"Yeppers, that sounds like a great idea! Let's head back lickety split for victory pudding!" Neptune cheered as she leapt up into the air following her fist.

Everyone else groaned a bit as they all began heading back, Uni asking Brave a question as they went when she noticed something odd about her clothing. "Um, brave. You have clothing on under that thing right?" She asked as she pointed at the Tabard.

Brave, who had been mechanical for the majority of his life until just a couple hours before, looked at Uni on confusion. "I don't understand. This is clothing, is it not?"

Everyone just laughed while Uni groaned as she realized that Brave had never been, well, not a machine before. This was going to take some teaching. But after a second she began laughing as well.

After all, they were all alive, and they had won!

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In the dark forest, getting darker as night began to fall, Magic trudged through blood flowing out of her body and staining the grass behind her as she moved. Her connection to her goddess, to Arfoire had been cut, taken from her by that monster! The CPU's had defeated her, taken away her everything from her! She would kill them for it! Butcher the, destroy everything they held dear! But she couldn't do it in her current state. She needed rest, she needed power, she needed weapons, and she needed people.

She would have her revenge. All she needed was time!

 **Authors note 2: So again, the chapter many people were waiting for, the end of the rebirth 2 Arc. it went on longer than I had initially planned, by quite a few chapters actually. Part of it was that I was not sure what to do with Brave for a while. I knew he/she would take the seals as the arcs endgame, but I hadn't decided whether I was turning Brave into a man/woman fleshy, or keeping brave as a machine. all of the options had good reasoning for them as well as strong reasons against them, but finally I decide to follow the Hyper dimension rout, and turned Brave into a cute girl, who now as a knight of honor to Uni, will not be going anywhere anytime soon!**

 **And this brings us to our next arc – The Reconquista war arc – Yes, hats right, you've waited for it, and now it comes. We are going back to Halkeginia!**

 **For those of you wishing to know about braves Clothing, a Tabard is medieval kind of pull over cover, loose on the sides and with a hole for the head, often tied at the waist by a belt. if you need images to get a better idea, there's tons on the internet, and I hope you liked this envisioning of Brave as a female Crusader esque knight, because that's what its staying as.**

 **I hope everyone liked the chapter! the next one shall be the start of the next arc, as well as showing how Brave is, slowly, getting used to her new life, so until then!**


	16. Chapter 16

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You and your sister spent almost three years in an alternate dimension, and that was why you were gone without a peep for three days?" Louise asked to Nepgear as the two of them and 5PB sat at a large table at a Café at the corner of a street in Lastations Capitol.

"Yep, that's basically it," Nepgear said with a nod. "My sister got pulled into the other dimension first, and then I followed her because I was worried."

"So, does that mess with you? The time there being so different from our dimension I mean." 5PB asked as she sat on her chair, rocking slightly while sipping on a smoothie, trying to ignore the stares their table was getting from around them. It was, after all, not common to see an idol and two Goddess candidates of two other nations in Lastation, and the stares they were getting were numerous. Nepgear and Louise just seemed to not notice.

"I haven't felt anything strange since we got back yesterday, and Histoire checked us over to be sure, so I think I'm fine," Nepgear replied with a smile. "It was a weird place though, with alternate versions of Vert, Blanc and Noire."

"Not of your sister?" Louise asked as she tossed a fry in her mouth nonchalantly.

"No, the CPU of that dimensions Planeptune was a small, cute and sleepy girl named Plutia. . . though, she uh, kind of puts Blanc to shame in how scary she could be, and you and my sister in how different her HDD is to her normal self."

"Wait, seriously? Louise's HDD is, and your sisters as well, they both are, very different though," 5PB said uncertainly. "Was hers that major?"

"It was," Nepgear said, her complexion growing dark in recollection.

"Well, as long as you both are fine, right?" Louise asked, seeing Nepgear darkening.

"R-right, sorry, I just. It was a fun place, but some of the bad people were just as bad as ASIC so some parts were also pretty bad too."

"Oh, well I suppose lots of places are like that . . . . . ." Louise said as she looked around with a slightly confused scowl.

"Something wrong?" 5PB asked.

"Well, Noire was the one who called us all here, so I'm just wondering where she, Rom and Ram are. That's all."

"Oh, right!" Nepgear suddenly exclaimed as she took out her phone. "Mina texted me earlier saying that Rom and Ram couldn't make it, because they skipped out on their studies yesterday so she's punishing them."

"Ouch, I heard Mina's lessons can be pretty tough when she gets angry," 5PB said with a shiver.

"Oh, well, what about Noire and-"

"I'm here!" Noire called as she walked over with Brave a half step behind her, and looking rather different than before. The last time they had seen Brave was a week before when she was reborn and beat Magic, and then she had been wearing her Tabard, Shawl as well as greaves and armbraces, and little else. From online text conversations with Noire, it was clear that Brave, having been a machine, did not understand how clothing worked.

Now however, that appeared to have been fixed, at least partially. Brave was wearing a pair of dark black knee length shorts, simple hiking style shoes, and socks, and a bright red Tank top that allowed them to tell that she was about as large as Uni or Nepgear, maybe a bit bigger. Her hair was done up into a loose ponytail, held with a gold lion clasp, but she had none of her other clothing on, making Nepgear and Louise have to do a double take.

"Whoa!"

"Wow!"

"Oh, H-hello Noire, and you to Brave. You look good!" 5PB said after Nepgear and Louise could only stare as Uni and Brave walked over to the table.

"I - . . Thank you. I am still trying to understand clothing, and its fashions," Brave said in slight embarrassment as the two of them sat down.

"Yeah, Brave has no fashion sense at all. I'm just lucky she looks good in most things," Uni said with a sigh as she swiped a couple fries from Louise. "Sorry for making you wait, we had to go back when I realized Brave forgot to put on her Bra."

"I said I was sorry, it's complicated to put on," Brave said apologetically as he lowered her head to Uni, making Nepgear snicker, and 5PB and Louise blush a bit.

"It sounds like you're getting used to it though, right Uni?" Nepgear said with a light hearted laugh.

"Uh, w-well, yes, I suppose. Why, is that wrong?!" Uni replied with a huff.

"No, it's a good thing, at least, I think so," 5PB said with a smile, trying to cam Uni down a bit. "Um, and I'm sorry if my being here is a problem. I was with Louise when you called her."

"It's no problem or anything, I just figured that, you know, we should hang out a bit, now that the Chaos from ASIC has finally gone away for the most part," Uni said as she glanced to the side.

"That's a great idea Uni!" Nepgear exclaimed happily! "Louise wanted help to make that game as well, so we could talk about that too!"

"Well, I guess so," Uni said offhandedly, while Brave leaned forward a bit.

"May I ask a question?"

"Of course, what is it Brave?" Nepgear asked with a smile.

"What is this game you speak of?"

"Oh that, Louise asked us to help her make a game of her old life!"

"Her, old life?" Brave asked as she looked to Louise. "Histoire made a reference to that as well. Does that mean, you recall having another life?"

"Yes, I do," Louise confirmed with a light sigh as she realized there were no more fries. "To me, the day I died in that life, was the same one where I was reborn as Vert's sister. I still remember it easily, mainly because almost everything sucked."

"Which makes me wonder why you want to remember it so badly," Uni said with a sigh. "Like, if it was that bad why not try to forget it?"

"Uni, would you wish to forget the time your sister was captured, even if, as you told me, it drove you to try harder and drove you to be better and eventually save her?" Brave asked, her expression saying that she knew that she was responsible for that very circumstance to some extent.

"Ah well no I just . . . . Never mind," Uni said, sulking a bit in her chair.

"I want to remember the place, not the events," Louise stated. "Some places were nice, and there were good people I am sure I just never really had seen or met them. Besides, games are supposed to be fun, so we can take liberties, right?"

"Yes, that sounds like it would be for the best," 5PB said happily. "I haven't actually made a game before. Would it be too much to maybe, ask if I can help?"

"Of course you can help!" Nepgear exclaimed with a smile before she turned to Louise. "So, was there any kind of major events or something like that that could be a starting point for it?"

"Um, well I suppose, but it would depend on what kind of game, wouldn't it?"

"It would," Uni spoke up. "If it was a single player RPG, a MMO, or a dungeon crawler, yeah I think we'd need to decide what kind of game it would be. You said that the important people were nobles in that world though right? Would it make sense to play as a young noble or mercenary in an RPG setting maybe?"

"That is one option, but I-" Louise stopped as suddenly the light around them changed.

Everyone looked up to see a black circle covering the Sun, creating a rainbow like glow around it that flickered and glittered. The light coming down from it was colorful and reflected across everything. Then everything flashed brightly, blinding everyone for a moment, and as soon as it had begun, it had passed and everything was normal again.

With the exception of five missing girls.

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"Ow, that, why does my butt hurt?" Nepgar muttered as she sat up and rubbed it. as she opened her eyes she found a forest of trees surrounding her, and Uni, Brave and 5PB sitting up as well, rubbing heads or butts. Right in the centre of the clearing laid Louise, making Nepgear suddenly worry. " Louise, are you okay?"

"No, no I am not okay." Louise replied as she lay there on the cool night-time grass.

"Are you hurt?" 5Pb asked in worry as she stood up and then grabbed her head and wobbling a bit.

"No, I'm not hurt. But there's that," Louise said neutrally as she lifted an arm and pointed up.

Everyone then looked up and their mouth went wide in surprise. Above them, hanging in the night sky, was not one moon of white, but a pair of moons, pink and blue in their respective colors, whose sizes were far greater than any moon they had ever seen.

"Oh. . . . Um, I guess we got pulled into another dimension?" Nepgear said anxiously, thinking she'd somehow get blamed for it.

"But how?" Uni asked in annoyance. "It's not like anything odd-"

"Was perhaps, that eclipse responsible?" Brave suggested, stopping Uni midsentence.

"Oh. . . . . .uh. drat."

"Ugh, maybe Histoire will notice when I don't get back?" Nepgear suggested with a forced smile. "And, maybe this dimension doesn't have such a time difference. That would be nice."

"Yeah but, where are we?" 5PB asked calmly. "You said that your sister found others very quickly as well as a place to stay but, if we don't know where we are-"

"We're in Halkeginia," Louise said with a heavy sigh as she finally shifted and sat up, sighing again.

"Wait, wasn't that-"

"Where my past life was, yes," Louise said, stopping Nepgear from saying it.

"How are you sure though?" Uni asked as he placed a hand on her hip.

"The moons," Louise said as she pointed up at them. "There was always one in the sky, and blue and pink are, now that I know better, very strange colors for lunar objects."

"Oh . . . . .well, you must know where we can go then, right?" Uni asked hopefully.

"No not from the middle of a forest I don't. I admittedly, didn't get out much, and when I did, it was by carriage."

"Oh. Well, why doesn't one of us take a look from above then!" Uni declared as she looked like she was about to go HDD.

"Wait, Uni don't!" Nepgear suddenly shouted, surprising everyone.

"What? why?"

"Because, we might not be able to use HDD here! My sister and I couldn't in the other dimension unless we got certain items. It might be the same here!"

"Okay, but how do we find out?" Uni asked.

"Um, by trying to use HDD?"

"Then any of us could go up! Why make a deal out of it?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't fall on your face or something."

"Fine, then you try!"

"Actually, it might be best if you did Uni," Louise suddenly said. "You're the least bright after all."

"Excuse me?!" Uni roared at Louise in sudden anger.

"What are you, ah! No I meant your wings! Your HDD's wings! They make the least light and won't be seen from a distance!" Louise quickly said, just before Uni managed to reach her.

"My wings?" Uni said with a sigh, then a huff. "Why didn't you say that first then? And why does it matter?"

"Well, Halkeginia isn't really advanced," Louise said simply.

"Ah, I see. You mean that electric lamps and such do not exist, so something as bright and vibrant as your wings would stick out especially at the night, correct?" Brave asked intelligently.

"Yes, exactly that." Louise said as she breathed heavily, happy that Uni hadn't gotten to throttle her because of a slip of the tongue.

"But, is that a bad thing?" 5Pb suddenly asked. "People finding us I mean."

"Yeah, that's what we're trying to do, right?" Uni added.

"Well yes, but it would depend on who found us and where we are. Some Nobles might consider us thieves, and if we're in Romalia and were caught by the church, heretics or demons or something maybe," Louise said, sounding both worried and annoyed by her own words.

"Huh? Wouldn't angels be more appropriate?" Uni asked, sounding a bit scandalized that Louise had used Demon to describe them, sort of.

"With the church, it's hard to say," Louise said with a low sigh. "That's why you should see if you can go up though Uni. That way we can decide where we go. Nepgear's or my wings are just too bright."

"Fine, then I'll just go and take a look!" Uni declared as she successfully went HDD and then flew up into the air.

"Well, at least we can go HDD it seems," Nepgear said with a smile.

"Yeah but . . . I don't really feel a whole lot of shares, do you?" Louise asked. It had taken some time, but about halfway through the first year of Vert being kidnapped was when she had finally found out how to go HDD, and with it, realized how to feel shares.

Nepgear shook her head. "No, I . . . no, I feel, something, maybe?"

"Wait, so you do feel shares?" 5PB asked in surprise.

Louise nodded. "I can feel a very slight trickle, but not anything beyond that."

"Same," Black sister said as she floated down, only to turn back to Uni about a meter above the ground and drop down a bit haphazardly. "Ow, that was close. Good thing I came down when I did."

"Did you see anything?" Brave asked calmly, seeming to take the whole situation the best, though none of them were panicking, so that was a positive.

"Yeah. There's a big building down there," Uni said as she pointed one way in the forest. "It's surrounded by walls and had small flickering lights moving around it."

"Probably a manor, so a noble," Louise decided with a nod. "And the other?"

"A large grouping of small buildings are over there," Uni said as she pointed in the opposite direction of the manor. "I saw a couple lights that looked like they were inside the buildings, and could see smoke, so probably houses."

"Any big buildings? walls?"

"No, does that matter?"

"Yes, it means it's probably a small village," Louise said with a sigh of relief. "I recall hearing once that smaller villages were more welcoming of travellers, so that should be where we go."

"Makes sense, hopefully the inn has rooms available!" Nepgear said with a smile.

"Uh, there probably won't be an inn, not in a village," Louise said apologetically.

"But, aren't there inns in even the smallest villages?" 5PB asked curiously.

"In games yeah, but merchants and most travellers would rest in big towns, not villages," Louise said as she sunk her head down a bit. "Sorry, some games are a bit wrong I guess."

"We will not know if we do not look though, correct?" Brave spoke up. "Perhaps we should move there, and talk about it on the way?"

"That would be for the best, uh, which way did you say that village was again Uni?" 5PB asked as she glanced around, already having lost her sense of direction in the forest.

"It's this way," Uni said with a sigh as she began walking, everyone following close in almost two lines. After a few minutes of only the sound of bugs and the wind in the tree's to annoy them, Uni spoke up. "So, anything we should look out for, monsters or the like?"

"Um, I don't think so. Monsters stayed away from big towns, but if that village is very small, maybe? I'm not really sure honestly. The forest could have bears and . . . w-wolves though," Louise said nervously.

"What are wolves?" Brave asked immediate, Louise twitching at the name.

"Mini Fenrir's basically," 5Pb explained as she leaned over to brave a bit. "They are what killed Louise in her past life."

"Ah, my apologies for bringing them up then. May I ask what a bear is?"

"It's a beast, about, two thirds the size of a Fenrir, I think," Louise answer, not sure as to their size as she had never seen one. All the stories made them out to be extremely large and dangerous though. "If I recall right, they are big, furry, and very strong and dangerous."

"Wait, you mean a teddy bear right?" Nepgear suddenly asked. "Those plushies in stores that are cute and big?"

"Um, maybe. I've never seen one."

"Your information really is hardly there huh?" Uni muttered.

"Uni, that's rude," Nepgear said.

"Sorry but I mean-"

"No, you're right. The more I think on it, the more I realize I never really did a whole lot in my other life. I lived as I was told to, and little more even when I failed."

"Well, um, don't worry, okay?" 5PB said to Louise carefully.

"Right, sorry," Louise apologized as the group came to the edge of the forest and broke free of its constrains. Before them were rolling plains and hills. Small groups of trees and barely visible fences broke up the greenery, and by a large hill were the blocky shapes of buildings, small squares of light coming out of some like the openings of lamps.

"It, does look pretty small, huh?" 5PB said first as they all looked down at the village below them.

"It is, I think I see . . . . . nineteen, maybe two dozen buildings?" Nepgear guessed as she tried counting them, finding it was hard due to all the trees and how close together some buildings were.

"Yeah, so if there's no inn, what do we do though?" Uni asked.

"The tavern, if there is one, might have a room we can use, but . . . ."Louise bean, sounding like she didn't want to say what came next.

"What is it?" 5PB spoke up first, prompting Louise to let out a heavy sigh.

"We'll have to work probably, serving food or washing dishes. We don't have any of Halkeginia's money after all."

"What, you man they don't accept credits?" Uni asked, sounding surprised by the idea.

"Um, they can't," Louise admitted anxiously. "Halkeginia is a strict fantasy world, there are no computers, no electricity, and no . . . . indoor plumbing either."

"What!? How do they bathe then!?" Uni nearly roared in horror.

"With a basin of water mostly. Only the nobility have large baths. And they don't even get close to what we have."

"Oh goodness, that sounds uncomfortable," Nepgear said as she glanced ahead at the village they were now very close to. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Yes, please inform us if there are other pieces of information that would be important to know," Brave said in agreement.

"Well," Louise began as she stopped and looked them all over. It was no good. Their clothing was too nice. "We might be mistaken for Nobles, or other kinds of people, from our clothing."

"What do you mean?" Uni asked.

"Halkeginians have simple clothing unless they are nobles. We might get recognized as travelers if we're lucky. If we're not. . . . Nobles, merchant's daughters or . . . Working girls."

"Huh? What is that supposed to-" Uni began to ask until Nepgear whispered in her ear. "What?! Why would they think that from what we're wearing!? Only 5PB is showing any great amount of skin!"

5PB sank a bit at that comment but quickly spoke up. " Uhm, if I remember in fantasy games, most people wear clothing that covered their whole bodies, right?"

"Yes, especially women. Only nobles show skin, but it's usually only a bit of their legs and arms if they are nobles, and only when they are younger," Louise explained as she gestured to everyone's clothing. "Our clothes are simple or common for us, but here in Halkeginia, they'll be very high quality, and the fact that all of us is showing some skin somewhere . . . .we'll have to hope they assume us for travelers from a faraway land, or merchants. Hopefully we can introduce ourselves before anyone makes assumptions. Otherwise it may be hard to make them think otherwise."

"This is sounding less like an adventure and more like a hassle the more I hear," Uni grumble as the group entered the village itself.

The streets were simple dirt covered in weeds and pits of grass, while the buildings all appeared to be made of nothing but wood. Some were wood planks but most were made of solid logs and had thick, difficult to see through glass of questionable quality. There were no streetlamps or anything to create light in the streets, making the only light that of what came out of the windows of homes. Most houses seemed to have poles in the yards with rope between them, fences of coiled branches surrounding them, and every door they could see was made of solid wood with simple wooden latches for handles and locks.

At the centre of the village they found a building larger than the others. Its foundation was made of cobbled stone, while the rest of its structure appeared to be made of Wooden logs and planks in combination. Its windows were thick, but a little easier to see through, and warm light beamed out of them, as did the sound of raucous laughter and merrymaking. Above the door hung a sign of carved wood with words in a runic language that made Uni, Nepgear, Brave and 5PB all stare at in confusion.

"Is that a language or just scribbles?" Uni asked finally, making Louse let out a sigh.

"It says, 'The Fallen dragon Tavern'," Louise said as she took a step forward and then turned around. "So, uh, as much as I don't want to, I should probably do the taking."

"Okay, what would have us do then?" Brave asked forwardly.

"Um . . . nothing?" Louise asked hopefully.

"What do you mean nothing? We can't just let our friend do everything themselves!" Nepear exclaimed.

"No I mean, I know about Halkeginia, but we never talked about a lot of it, and I don't want us to cause a stir. If we attract attention, it might be of the wrong kind."

"Then what do you propose we do!" Uni demanded to know, sounding slightly aggravated at how nervous and odd Louise was acting.

Louise took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'll talk to the barkeep. If we need to work for a room it will be one of two things. Washing dishes and preparing food, or serving the tables. If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's serving . . . then the chances are some old man will probably try something to one of us, guaranteed."

"Wait, like that thing in some series where patrons try to touch the girl up their skirt?" 5PB asked nervously as she held her arms against her own skirt.

"Yes. Or they try to get you to sit on their lap and drink with them, or a multitude of other things. It's possible, but I don't know what village or country we're in, so I can't truly gauge the possibilities. Other than, Brave and 5Pb are the most likely targets."

"Why us?" Brave asked curiously.

"Because both of your outfits are the most revealing, probably," Uni said with a sigh.

"Ugh, but, I mean, this just became normal to wear for me after wearing it on stage so often. No one looks at me strangely with it," 5PB said explained.

"Yes, but that's in Leanbox, and in our world clothing is far more varied, and there's no problems with showing some skin," Louise said as she took another deep breath and let it out. "Okay, I'll do the talking. Let's go in!"

"Right!" Everyone replied as they followed Louise as she walked up to the door, gripped the brass handle and opened it to step inside.

The Tavern's insides were about what she expected. Wood flooring, wood tables that looked a bit rough, and patrons who looked the same. The taverns main area was lit by multiple lamps on the walls and by a roaring fireplace to the left side. Stairs up to the second floor sat at the left of the back wall, and beside it was a kitchen area that also had kegs on a counter with brass taps forced into them, many at odd angles. At the counter stood a burly man who was built like the kegs beside him, while a young girl, probably 15 or so with black hair was walking around the area brining drinks and collecting pay from the patrons. The Patrons themselves seemed to be mostly men, large, brawny and rough from lifetimes of outdoor labour, but there were a couple women, dressed in simple dresses, who looked like they could whip any of the men in the room into action. Likely some of their wives.

The tavern had been filled with the raucous sounds of merrymaking, gossip, idle chatter and drinking, but as Soon as the five Gameindustri girls entered and the door closed behind them, much of the noise in the building died down as many patrons turned to look at them. The barmaid continued to move and deliver drinks, but as the five girls crossed the floor more and more people were eyeing them in ways that made some of them, 5PB and Uni in particular, very uncomfortable. They could feel their eyes on them, glancing up and down as if trying to undress them; and only those with their wives did not continue to stare at them as they reached the back counter.

"And what can I do for you," the barkeep spoke up but paused as he looked over the five girls. " . . . . You well dressed young ladies?" He finally said, sounding like he wanted to say something else.

"Good evening, we're travelers, and are wondering if you might have a room that we could use for the night," Louise said carefully, then adding another bit when she noticed the barkeep glancing at them again. "We only need one room."

"Well I do have a room you could use I suppose, but only if you stop lying to me!" The barkeep stated with a huff.

Louise felt her agitation grow slightly, but held it back, now was not the time to yell or overreact. "I apologize, but I am not sure what you mean."

"The hell you don't girl!" the man declared loudly, making some in the tavern chuckle. "You are not travelers, not with clothing like yours! What are you really? Are you here on orders from the count perhaps? Looking to take our valuables, spy on us?"

"Sir, we really are just travelers far from home," Nepgear spoke up as she stopped a bit closer, looking at the man with a pleading gaze.

"Oh from where? Rub al Kali perhaps?" The barkeep asked as his gaze moved onto 5PB. "You look like one of those exotic dancers of theirs that sleep with any willing man after all. I doubt you even have any puri-"

Suddenly Louise reached over the counter, grabbed the man's collar, and then much to his surprise, a nd the entire taverns, swung him over the counter and onto the floor beside her with a heavy thud. "DO NOT INSULT MY FRIENDS! I HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY TRUTHFULL AND PLEASANT WITH YOU, THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS BE POLITE IF YOU AIM TO SEND US ON OUR WAY!"

The entire Tavern was as silent as a cemetery. After all the barkeep, a mountain of a man, was just pulled over the counter and slammed into the floor by a girl not even half his size, a girl who looked like she would have difficulty with any form of labour aside from lifting a teacup. The Patrons, one of which had managed to take out knife, were completely stunned, while the barmaid had her hands over her mouth, fear and worry filling her eyes and making it clear that she was likely the barkeeps daughter.

Louise let go of the Barkeeps collar and stepped back from him, seeing that Nepgear, Uni, Brave and 5PB were just as surprised as the patrons of the tavern were. Then she let out a resigned sigh. "I apologize; I let my anger get the better of me. If you want us gone then we will leave. Good night," Louise said as she turned and took a step away.

"Hold!" Came a very serious sounding woman's voice, accompanied by the sound of a bowstring tightening.

Louise turned around to see a woman, easily in her forties and hearing a simple dark grey dress and apron standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a drawn longbow in her hands. It was easy to tell where she was aiming it. "We're leaving, we won't cause any more trouble," Louise said simply as she looked at the woman.

"No," the woman said sternly as the barkeep got up, rubbing his head. "My idiot husband made assumptions and insulted those with you. If you had not tossed him around I would have berated him later until he was a heap upon the foot of our bed. As long as he us not crippled or bleeding, it is fine. But no, what I am stopping you for is something entirely different. I wish to speak with you and your friends. I'm willing to let you use our guestroom, and provide you wish some simple food if you agree."

"Fleur! You can't just-" The barkeep began to say as he stood up, only for the arrow knocked in the bow to turn and point him.

"I can, and I will, Lawrence. That girl, as she moved to grab you, I saw her eyes flash!"

The tavern, that had been so silent, suddenly buzzed with noise as the patrons began muttering to themselves, to quiet to be heard over the others, but loud enough that it was clear that everyone had some thoughts on the matter.

The barkeeps reaction however was the most surprising, as he was looking at the girls with a look of wonder, mixed with confusion. He then turned back to his wife. "You, you are sure?"

"Yes, I clearly say her blue eyes, flash to green!" Fleur said clearly.

"I understand. Please speak with them," The barkeep said as she turned to the five girls. "I apologize for how I acted. Can I please ask you to take up my wife's request?"

"It's not much of a request when she's aiming that bow at us," Uni said standoffishly.

Fleur lowered the bow slightly, but did not un-draw it. "There is reason. But I need you to agree to speak to me to explain. Please."

The five girls looked at each other uncertainly for a few seconds, until Brave spoke up. "Very well, let us hear what she has to say."

"Brave, her guy insulted 5PB!" Uni declared loudly, making the barkeep look to the side in shame.

"That may be, but I feel that we would have no trouble leaving if we needed to. Would there be that much harm in listening?" Brave asked calmly.

"I agree, lets listen to what she wants to say," Npgear agreed. "After all, if they need help it would be rude not to listen!"

Many patrons in the taverns seemed at awe of Nepgears words, muttering about how good hearted and forgiving she was. It made Louise want to throw spears at all of them. One minute they're glaring at them like lechers, the next their staring like they are in worship.

"Are you fine with this?" Louise asked Uni and 5PB.

"Um, I guess so," 5Pb said uncertainly, while Uni jet let out a sigh and shrugged.

"Haaa, alright, fine. We'll listen to what you have to say," Louise said, leaving out what she wanted to add, a bit about how if she attacked them they'd fight back. She wasn't about to hold back, not on someone who was related to one who insulted her friends!

"Thank you!" Fleur said as she un-drew her bow and set it down against the wall with a strangely brilliant smile on her face. "Please, follow me upstairs and we'll speak!" She declared as she quickly went over to the stairs and waved for the five to follow her.

As they did they could hear the tavern noise boil back up to its previous level. But instead of taking about simple things, it was clear that they were all talking about them, and something about a telling, or something.

Fleur lead them upstairs and to the first door on the right. It was a long and narrow room with two beds on the right wall, small wooden closets across from them, and a table in the centre with four chairs. "Please make yourselves comfortable while I get some more chairs," Fleur said as she turned to leave.

"No, its fine," Uni said as she walked straight into the room and then promptly fell onto the furthest bed, 5Pb doing the same to the closest one with a groan. "Ugh, I'm not used to walking in a forest like that!

"Well, I will still need a chair for myself," Fleur continued, until Brave closed the door, and stood beside it.

"I will stand."

" . . . you, do not trust me, do you?" Fleur asked as she turned back to Nepgear and Louise, who were already siting down at the table.

"You force us to come into a private room to speak with us, after I threw your husband over a countertop for him insulting my friend," Louise said seriously as she stared at Fleur.

"Yeah, it doesn't add up. Normally people would be angry at that," Uni piped up as she sat up on the bed.

"We'd like to, but they are right so . . ." Nepgear agreed, sounding upset at the fact.

"That is understandable, Please allow me to apologize for my husband's words, He spoke in such a way because we are often harassed by the daughters of the local count, and none of your clothing looks less than that of a merchant or noble." Fleur said as she came over and sat down

"Yeah, it wouldn't have been our first choices," Louise grumbled to herself.

"Its fine, we were well, we weren't exactly-" Nepgear tried to say, stopping when Fleur put up a hand.

"No, please, do not say anything more great ones. We were in the wrong, and you were perfectly polite till my husband insulted you," Flue said, sounding oddly respectful. Suddenly she then then bowed her head a bit. "To explain why I asked to speak to you, my grandmother, and a few other grandparents in Tarbes, used to tell us stories. They would tell us, and have taught us, that true gods take the form of beautiful women, ready to defend the land and people from any threat. There is much more to the teachings we keep, both to ourselves and secret from others outside of the village. But they always mentioned that the eyes of goddesses would change color when using something called. . .I believe it was Drive-"

Fleur was suddenly interrupted when a loud crash came from below them, alongside the sound of yells and shouts. The five girls reacted instantly, getting up and leaving the room with speed that fleur could not comprehend. As they ran down the stairs the scene that welcomed them was far from welcoming itself.

Standing in the doorway and away from it was a group of five men in rough coats with swords at their waists and rotten, angry and nervous looks on their faces. A number of patrons were on the ground holding their arms or sides and blood dripped from them onto the floor, and the tables they had been sitting at had ben overture d violently. One of the armed men was holding the barmaids head with his arm while holding a knife near her stomach while her father Lawrence was standing in front of the men sternly. Glaring down on him was the man who likely led the other four men. He was bigger, had no sleeves to his coat allowing his large muscles to show, and was holding a large battle-axe in one hand, and a Flintlock pistol that looked well used in the other, aiming it at the barkeep.

"Now listen here, you're going to give us all the provisions we can carry, or we're going to bleed your little girl all over the ground and then do the same to each and everyone one of you as well! Understand?" The big thug said, sounding strangely unnerved despite seeming to have the upper hand.

"Please sir, do not hurt my girl! Tarbes is only a small village, we don't have that much to give and-" Lawrence tried to explain, only for the big thug to take a step forward and backhand him with the flintlock, knocking Lawrence to the floor with a crack.

"Then I don't see what we need from this little pisshole! Maybe we should just burn it down, and take all the lovely ladies like this one with us?" he asked with a chuckle as he looked to Lawrence's daughter.

It was at that same moment that Brave ran across the tavern and stopped in front of the man. "Let her go miscreant! I will not allow you to harm her!"

"Huh?" the man mumbled as he turned to Brave, raised an eyebrow, and then chuckled. "Heh, check this out, the little tramp thinks she can make demands of men like us!" All his men laughed in response as he took a step toward Brave. "Tell you what, why don't you come with us, and maybe we'll let her go!"

"You will let her go regardless, or I will pass judgment on you!" Brave declared as her right hand began clenching open and closed.

"Ha! As if you could! "Grek, Burn this shit hole!" The leader commanded loudly as he pointed his gun at Brave's head. "I'll make you watch as I burn this shitpile to the ground for your arrogance, girl!"

Following his order, one thug pulled out what looked to be a grenade and began holding its fuse up ti a nearby lamp. Only for a spear to fly through the air and slam into his wrist, making him drop the grenade as his am was stuck against the wall.

The leader glanced over, saw the lance, then looked at the stairs, seeing the other four, and Louise recovering from what he recognized as a throwing form. "You, do you realize that you are making things worse for these people!"

Everyone in the bar was now looking at them on the stairs stairs, But Louise simply glowered at the man even as many patrons began muttering, asking where she had gotten the spear from. "Yes, it will be worse, for you, unless you leave. Now!" Louise demanded, quieting the whole building from shock.

"Why you stupid girl! Know your place!" one thug yelled as he pulled a flintlock off his own off his belt and aimed it at Louise across the tavern, making everyone that was still sitting duck their heads. The sound of a gunshot rang out a second later, but it was not one of powder, but one of energy. Sitting in Uni's hands was her own rifle, the end of it smoking slightly, while the gun in the thugs hand had been obliterated, and a long burn mark ran down the length of his arm to his shoulder.

As he screamed in pain, the leader could only blink as he tried to take in what had just happened. His man aimed his gun, a small glow of light emendated from the black haired girls hands, and then she had some kind of long rifle he had never seen before that fire a light. Was it magic? Wait, did that mean the girls were mages?

With sudden realization he tensed and looked back at brave. "Alright that's it. No one moves and inch or the girl dies you understand!? We're going to back out of here, and no one will move or she dies!"

"No, you will let her go!" Brave declared sternly, making the leader feel strange, as if he was being stared down on by a beast, like a manticore or dragon, something that could kill regular people without difficulty.

The leader saw Brave take a step and then turned his gun on the barmaid. "I said do not move you stupid bitch!"

Brave stopped moving and scowled. "You will let her go. Now."

"No I will not, so back off or she dies!"

"You hurt one hair on her body and you will not live to regret it!"

"Wanna bet on that!?" the leader yelled to everyone's horror as his finger began depressing the trigger.

As he did, a Flash of light emendated away from brave. In that same second she went from having only her regular clothing on, to having her Battle gear, her Tabard, shawl, pieces of armour, her claw, and her broadsword, and swung it. Her broadsword hit the leader's wrist and cut it off without any resistance, and as he screamed she rushed forward, grabbed his head in her claw and threw him backwards, catching two other thugs and knocking the three of them right out the door.

In that same second Nepgear lunged at the thug holding the barmaid and smacked his arms off her, then knocked him flat on his butt, while 5PB ran over, summoned her guitar and slammed it into the final Thug's head, sending him reeling into a wall, complete unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Brave asked as he knelt down beside the barmaid.

"I-I, I think so," she replied uncertainly, not sure what was going on or what had happened, but from the stares and wide eyed expressions of the townsfolk, it had to be impressive.

"Good, I'll go outside and finish this," Louise suddenly said as she walked by Brave, a spear appearing in her hands if by magic.

"Wait, we'll help!" Uni declared as she ran over, then suddenly noticing the blood, and the hand, on the ground near Brave and the barmaid.

"People don't explode into data here. They bleed," Louise said coolly as she turned around and looked at the hand on the ground. It made her feel uncomfortable, not because there was blood, nor because she had gotten use to monsters exploding into data, but because it didn't faze her all that much in the first place.

"People bleed no matter where you are if you hit them hard enough," Uni deadpanned with a sigh as she shook her head. "We're not Ram or Rom, we can deal with a little bloodshed if that's how it is. It's not like it doesn't appear in games either!"

"Right, sorry, I just . . . sorry," Louise said with a sigh.

"Its fine lets go catch those guys outside," Uni said as she walked over to the door and then swore. "It looks like they ran off. Cowards."

"Well there's still these two guys and-" Louise stopped speaking as she turned around, finding every patron, the barkeeper Lawrence, and his wife fleur, staring at the five girls who were now by the doors. Their expressions were wide eyed, some filled with fear, some with curiosity, and some with wonder that looked to be bordering on worship. Louise glanced down at the bloody hand on the ground, the smashed tables and the unconscious thug, and then looked back up at the patrons and Lawrence. "Uh, sorry for the mess."

"No, you saved me, and my daughter," Larence said as he fully stood up, cringing a bit from pain, likely from being struck.

"And you are the ones we have been hoping to find us!" Fleur declared as she fully came down the stairs with a smile on her face. And as she spoke, the patrons in the tavern all seemed to shift. Some looked extremely pleased, while other looked dismissive, even upset. "You are Goddesses from the old world, come to save us from the nightmare our forefathers were forced into! You have proven it!"

"Nightmare?" Nepgear asked in confusion. "what do you mean?"

"It would be best for our oldest to speak!" Fleur said as he looked to the one corner of the room, where one old man sat among those younger than him. He looked extremely old, like his bones could crack by glancing at him, and as if his flesh could slough off. His hair was patchy, his fingers thin like bone, but his eyes, his eyes held the knowledge of years, and a brilliant longing in them that was brighter than anything in the room.

"I and, many ancestors of those here, once lived in a better place," He began to say, his voice hoarse and slow. "The sky shone the colors, of all, and we found ourselves in this land. This village, a place for those, taken from elsewhere, took us in. we have waited, for our salvation, for our Goddess, any Goddess, to bring us home from this hell world of Religious madness and political shackles. Only I remain of the first of us, but our stories live on, and now, you are here. Please Goddesses of Gameindustri, Return our children, our descendants, to the land the deserve!"

"Wait, you're from Gameindustri!?" 5PB exclaimed in surprise at the revelation.

About a third of the patrons began nodding as Lawrence spoke up. "About a fifth of the villages ancestors are yes. About a third of the village holds no Halkeginian blood, while the other two thirds are mixed."

"Our villages Loyalty lies not to this land because of it though. We are constantly abused by our local lord, and most of the village wishes to either leave to better places, or return to our ancestral lands," Fleur stated proudly. "We've all heard too many old stories of the great places our forefathers hailed from, places that seem much nicer than Halkeginia!"

"Heh, their kind of like you then, huh Louise?" Uni said with a chuckle, making some patrons look at them strangely.

"What do you mean?" one asked after a second of silence.

"Nothing, she doesn't mean anything," Louise quickly spoke up, thinking quickly on how to change the subject. She didn't want them to know she had been Halkeginian, especially a noble. "Those thugs, have they been seen here before?"

"No, never seen em before," Lawrence replied as he looked over to the unconscious thug, who one patron had finished tying up and was looking over. "What's he look like Marcus?"

The patron named Marcus stood up, and turned to the rest of the room, his expression worried and fearful. "This man, his uniform is that of the Albion army. Advance scouting vanguard I think."

"Wait, Albion? Why would they send military forces here?"

"Didn't you hear, they're in the middle of a civil war!"

"Wait, does that mean it's over?"

"Hold on, what's going on?" Uni asked loudly, stopping the bar patrons from continuing without them.

"Sorry milady," one younger patron said. "For the past few months, the neighbouring country of Albion has been in the midst of civil war. Some nobles fighting against its reigning king or so we've heard. The fighting would sometimes spill onto our coastline, but not very often. The most that most places had to deal with was some soldiers that ran off into other countries."

"Until a about two months ago," another patron suddenly spoke up. "Albions one side, they call themselves Reconquista, apparently found evidence that Tristania's princess was having an affair with Albions crown prince. Because she was set to wed a Germanian prince though, the information broke off the marriage and subsequent alliance, and caused the Albion civil war to rage with renewed fury."

"Some Coastal towns have seen damage from it in the past weeks."

"Hold on, slow down please," 5Pb spoke up as he held her forehead. "So, basically, there's been a civil war going on in a neighbouring country. Right?"

"Yes," Louise said as she decided to summarize. "And because of politics that came to light during it, Tristania has lost a potential ally if the civil war spills over."

"Exactly, I would expect Goddesses of the old land to understand so easily!" Fleur declared with a smile.

"So, that means this man, if he's a soldier, means he's a deserter?" Nepgear asked.

"I think that may be wrong, perhaps even the inverse," Brave spoke up as she walked over to the unconscious man. "His uniform is a bit dirty, but not badly damaged. His weapon is also in good condition. Would these be true for a Deserter?"

Lawrence's face paled. "Oh no. Marcus, you said he was a scout probably?"

"Yes, and if he's not a deserter-"

"Everyone!" Came a new voice as the door to the tavern burst open, causing everyone to turn to it. Standing there in a generic, but well filled maid outfit was a girl with dark black hair that Louise recognized instantly as a maid from the magic academy. She couldn't place the name, but she knew she had worked there. She looked a little bit older, but not as much so as Louise expected. " We need to evacuate the village!" She declared as she breathed heavily, her legs and the lower half of her skirt covered in dirt and mud.

"Siesta!" one patron who had dark hair suddenly said in surprise, his face lighting up with happiness, but also with worry. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the academy? And what do you mean we should evacuate?"

"I – I just came from Count Motte's Estate, he-"

"Count Motte! He didn't hurt you did he? Did he touch you? If he soiled you I swear I'll kill him!" the man interrupted s he stormed over and grabbed Siesta by the shoulders, making it very clear they were probably related.

"No daddy, he didn't, he's not as bad as everyone thinks. But that's not the point! "Albion sent a declaration of War to the capitol, and the Nobility think the Albion fleet will pass right by Tarbes so the Queen and nobles are planning to counter their advance in the fields nearby! We need to evacuate or we'll be caught up in the battle!"

"How soon?" Louise suddenly asked loudly, using her most commanding tone. The effect was instant as all the chatter and mumbling stopped, and Siesta and her father turned to look at Louise

"Who . . . wait, you look, familiar. . .do I know you?" Siesta asked in confusion.

"No, I'm sure you don't," Louise said quickly, hoping to dissuade Siesta from thinking any harder about it. "But we have to know, how quickly was this battle supposed to happen?"

"Uh, well, count Motte said that the Queens army planned to be here by tomorrow at midnight to stop the Albion army from going further toward the capitol."

Louise's eyes went wide as she ran to the doorway and half stepped out, looking up at the night sky for a few seconds before looking back in. " Uni, Nepgear, do either of your weapons have scopes with magnification?"

"Mine does!" Uni declared as she reformed her rifle in her hands, much to the entire taverns surprise, and walked over to the doorway. As she made it there, Louise stepped out into the street and looked up, pointing toward the horizon.

"Can you see anything in the sky?"

"One second," Uni said as she brought her rifle up and began looking through it. As she did the entire tavern was quiet even as patrons began standing up from nervousness. After a few seconds of moving her rifle about, Uni stopped. "There! I see what looks to be a flying sailing ship!"

"Only one?" Louise asked to be sure.

" . . . . No," Uni said as she pulled her eyes away from her scope and looked at Louise, everyone else watching from the open doorway as she spoke. "Three big ones and nine smaller ones!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Authors note: Alright, so the chapter is here now, and I apologize for the time it took. Stuff happened. Now onto the show!**

"Twelve ships?" "That's a lot!" "Hundreds, no, thousands!" "We're all going to die, we can't outrun that many!" "How could we! How would we!" "We could hole up in the cave!?" No, they'll find us eventually!" "We can fight!" "And well die!" "The Goddesses! They can save us!" "Yes, they had so much power!" "They easily took out those soldiers!" "they're nothing but girls, what can they do?" "They can fight!" "They're goddesses!" "Their girls, five against an army!" "No, that's to many, what will we do? We'll all be killed!" "They can fight if they-" "They're girls against an army! They'll be beaten and killed or worse!" "So will we if, oh no we can't escape!" "I have to, my children ,they-" "We have to get the children out!" "But to where?! Most are too young!" "And there's nowhere safe, we can't outrun ships!" "Even if we evacuate, where will we go?" "This is our home!" "I don't want to die!" "We won't if we run!" "But to where!?" "Nowhere is safe, this county is doomed!" "But the goddesses, they can-" "They can die like the rest of us against an army!" "We have to run, get our families and flee!" "We'll be killed off, picked off one by one-" "I need to save my children!" "We need to-" "We need to fight, and die showing ourselves!" "No, we need to save as many as we can!" "We need to-" "The goddesses can help!" "They can save us!" "No they can't, we'll all just die with them!" "They'll die with us!" "What can they do? Nothing!"

Louise heard all of their voices, each Villager spoke at once, over each other, after others, interrupting without a care creating a cacophony of noise and fear. Fear, hope, hate, will, death, pessimism, their voices were filled with all the best and worst, though the latter drowned out the former easily.

It hurt. Their words hurt, burned like hot irons within, searing the soul and branding suffering onto it. They were scared, intelligent enough to know they could not escape, could not run, and could not hide from such numbers. They were normal people. They had no magic, no defence against magic, no training to save them from trained soldiers, armoured knights or empowered cannon. They knew their end was coming for them, and it hurt. It hurt so much!

"Wait, please calm down! We need to calm down and evacuate to the cave!" Came Siesta's voice, overwhelmed by the fear of those around her, but perfectly audible to Louise and the others. She was calm, almost too calm, but her calm was like a single drop that breaks still water.

Louise got up from her one knee; not even realizing she had fallen to her knees and walked back up to the Tavern. She threw open the door, materialized her spear, and slammed it against the floor creating a loud crack as she yelled at the top of her lungs. "SHUT, UP, FOR ONE, MOMENT!"

The Tavern went quiet, more out of surprise than anything else, but it was all that was needed as Uni came in the door behind Louise. Nepgear stood back up, Brave walked over to the front, and 5PB stepped away from the side wall as well. As soon as all of them were there, Louise spoke up again, Nepgear, 5PB and Brave all smiling just enough that Uni and Louise noticed.

"There is still time to evacuate because Si- she," Louise caught herself as she glanced at Siesta, knowing that if she spoke her name like she knew it, it would be bad for her. "-came and told everyone. Someone said there was a cave nearby?"

"Yes," Lawrence spoke up, sounding anxious and worried. "It's an old cave where the families of Tarbes keep our relics from the lands of our forefathers."

"Then gather what Provisions you can, and begin bringing everyone there," Brave spoke up, her tone commanding but not demanding.

"But with that many ships, they likely have over a thousand soldiers!" someone called out in frantic fear.

"And if you waste this time to prepare, you have only yourself to blame!" Louise responded, her tone like ice on steel. "Get your families into the cave with as much supplies as you can, and then fortify the entrance as well!"

"But, what about you Goddesses? Will you, save us?" the old man asked carefully, clearly not wishing to assume, but hoping his words would be the case.

"I-," Louise stopped for a second and felt angry at herself, but held it back. "We . . . . . . Will think of something, yes," she finally said with a resigned sigh.

In that same second about half the villagers faces lit up with hope and happiness, instantly getting to work, and making the rest act as well.

"We will need a space to converse if possible," Brave spoke up, catching Fluer's attention.

"Oh, of course! Use the room upstairs as you will!"

"Thank you. Please being us maps as well, of the surrounding area, and the village itself," Uni stated simply, her tone having its usual effect on people and making Fluer wince a bit before nodding and rushing off.

"Let's . . . head upstairs," Louise said with a heavy sigh as she immediately began trudging toward the stairs, the active townsfolk seemingly not noticing her presence as she went. None of the girls said a word as they followed Louise back upstairs to the room Fluer had led them to before. As soon as they were all inside and Brave closed the door, Louise dropped onto a chair at the table with her arms on it and her head in them, and let out a low, annoyed and angry groan. "I'm sorry, I should have just said no."

Nepgear, Uni, 5PB and Brave all exchanged looks as they got comfortable around the room. Brave stood directly in front of the door, 5PB sat down on a chair beside Louise, While Uni and Nepgear took seats on the beds. Nepgear was the first to speak up. "Why? They need our help, right?"

Louise slowly lifted her head up until her eyes could stare at Nepgear in a way that made it clear she was likely scowling. "They're not asking us to kill a roving monster attacking their cattle. They're expecting us to somehow save them from an entire army!"

"They are innocent, it would not be proper to leave them to their fate!" Brave declared heroically.

"R-right! And we can't very well leave them to be hurt! Especially since some of them are from Gameindustri!" Nepgear added, sounding like she was a bit unsure.

Louise looked at Uni and let out a sigh. "This is a bad idea. We have barely enough shares to go HDD."

"I realize that," Uni said.

"We'll be fighting a whole army of trained soldiers. We'd have to kill people."

"I know that," Uni said again, seeming the calmest of all of them.

"Then why does it seem like you're fine with this!" Louise suddenly yelled as she stood up with her palms on the table. "I should have said no! I should have left them to their fates! We should have left and tried to find a way back to gameindustri! Why did no one stop me when I shouldn't have said anything!?" Louise asked nearly in tears at her self-loathing.

"Why, how can you say that?" Nepgear asked in surprise, as she placed a hand over her mouth. "They need our help!"

"We shouldn't even be here! I shouldn't even be here!" Louise yelled as she slumped back into the chair and stared at the ceiling. "I, I hate it. I hate this place! I, I don't even know why I thought making a game was a good idea. There were only two good things, two people, whoever were worth anything to me here, and they would be better without the old me dragging them down with my past failures. But now, I have friends, I have family, I have a place where I can be someone, where I'm not a failure, where the world actually makes sense and the people are not all arrogant bastards! And now I'm back here again! Since we appeared here in Halkeginia I, I've had this gnawing. . Itch, it's, I hate it, and I hate this place! I don't want to be here! I want to go home and See Vert and all your sisters and Ram and Rom and Chika and-"

Louise suddenly stopped as a whitish light wafted over her, courtesy of Nepgear, who was standing up in front of the bed with her hand out and glowing with power.

"Louise, are you okay?" 5PB asked as she gently out a hand on Louise's shoulder.

"I- I think so . . . what, what was I doing just now?" Louise asked as she shook her head, the tears flying off her face that now looked wholly incompatible with how she had just been acting.

"You started ranting and crying, but your words didn't seem, accurate to how you talked earlier. It was like you were under a bad Confusion Debuff," Uni explained as Nepgear walked up to the table and placed a hand on louise's forehead.

"Sorry, I just cast a cure on reflex, but it seemed to do the trick," Nepgear said as she took her hand off of Louise's head. "It was weird; you didn't seem to be acting confused when we were downstairs though."

"Louise, what had you wanted to say when we came up here?" 5PB asked, clearly worried and a bit nervous.

"I wanted to ask you, if you were fine with this," Louise admitted solemnly. "I don't, really want to, but helping these people, especially those whose family came from Gameindustri is the right thing to do. I just wanted to make sure you all were okay with having to maybe kill people, and if so, maybe figuring out how we're going to protect this place."

Everyone silently stared at Louise, making her very uncomfortable.

"Um, why aren't you saying anything?"

"When you were under the confusion Debuff, you were ranting on about how you hated everything and wanted to leave," Uni stated.

"Yes, it was like your not wanting to help overruled your other thoughts," Nepgear added anxiously as she added to her words. "Do you feel alright?"

"Mhmm, I feel fine, I just, don't really recall what I was doing a bit ago while I was confused."

"Well, that is kind of how Confusion Debuff's work," Uni said with a sigh, remembering how much she hate that Debuff. It was exceedingly rare, and nearly no monsters in Gameindustri could cause it. But the ones that did, ugh they were such a hassle to deal with!

"We should discern what gave you the debuff," Brave spoke up thoughtfully. "You said that most people here cannot use magic, does that also apply to simple skills and abilities?"

"It does," Louise said with a nod. "Only mages, so nobles and those who lost their noble titles, can use magic, and regular people cannot. Abilities like those in Gameindustri don't exist. That's why I'm worried about helping save this village. We have our abilities, but no way to regain our MP if we run out. And without our HDD, we won't be able to get up to the ships."

"Could we shoot them down?" Uni asked hopefully as she formed her rifle in her lap and looked it over. "I'm not going to run out of power cells anytime soon, and the beams do work on monsters very well."

"Um, I'm not sure," Louise admitted quietly. "Airships are made of wood and fly by using wind stones, but I'm not sure how durable they are or are not."

"I am sure we all, myself and lady 5Pb included," Brave began to speak up as he gestured to 5PB. "Have the ability to destroy a ship made of wood, even if it is such a size. However I would require closer proximity to do so."

"Yeah, I can throw my spears far, but not that far," Even my Kinetic Barrage doesn't have that much reach."

"So If we're going to fight to protect these people, range is the biggest problem," Uni muttered as she held a knuckle to her lower lip. "What about evacuation?"

"Uni, they all said they'd never get away, remember?" Nepgear asked, remembering all of the villagers fears far too well for her own good.

"I know that, I'm just looking over our options!"

"Well, what about the villagers?" 5PB spoke up. "Could they help in any way?"

Louise shook her head and replied grimly, "Not unless helping meant dying. Their fear is real; against an army they would have no chance."

"Um, what about, leading them?" 5Pb spoke up unsurely.

"Leading the masses against their oppressor?" Brave asked for confirmation.

"No, I mean, what if we lead the army, those invading ships, away from the village somehow," 5PB explained. "That one girl, she said that the rulers of this country planned to fight the other army here, but that means um, that they, err,-"

"That they mean to sacrifice the village, yes," Louise said with a sigh at the foolishness of noble politics. Something she had thought she'd only have to re-enact in making a game. At least in a game it could be dumbed down or made to be more upstanding! "You don't need to pick your words Lyrica, I know how things are here. I know how bad they can be," Louise then said quietly, so just 5PB heard her.

"Okay, sorry," 5Pb said quietly, just before a knock on the door echoed into the room, making all the girls jump a bit.

"Excuse me, may I come in for a moment?" Came the voice of the girl, Siesta, from the doors other side.

Everyone was quiet for a second, before Nepgear realized that the others were looking at her. "Oh, yes, of course, please do!"

A second later the door opened up and the girls were able to get a good look at siesta as she came in, the chaos of earlier having taken away any chance for a good look of her character.

She was just as they had seen, and mostly as Louise recalled from her vague memories of the magic academy. She was a bit tall, had oddly dark black hair cut short, and her massive twins pushed the limits of her maid outfits blouse. Her skirt went down to her knees, and both the knee high boots she wore, and the edging of her skirt were covered in dirt, dust and mud. The odd thing was, to Louise at least, was that the belly of her outfit seemed, off. She hadn't ever talked to the maid, hell she had barely even looked at her for more than a couple seconds, but something still felt off. She just couldn't place her finger on it.

"Hello, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I have a map of the countryside, though it's a little old and worn," siesta said as she held up a rolled scroll in one hand.

"Oh, thank you! That will help a lot!" Nepgear exclaimed, prompting Siesta to walk over and unroll it on the table.

" . . . . This map," Louise began as she looked at it and scowled.

"It shows the whole country, and this, is it detailing, or a smudge?" 5Pb asked as she tilted her head side to side, looking at the map and trying to figure out which it was.

"What? It can't be that bad!" Uni declared as she got up and came over to the table, only to see the map and slump. "Never mind it's that bad. This thing will be of no help,"

"What is wrong with it?" siesta asked curiously. "Didn't you need a map?"

"What isn't wrong with it!" Uni nearly yelled. "This map is too large, it has no detail of the terrain, there's barely any details of anything besides town and roads. I don't even see a single river or hill on this map, and the, is this smudge supposed to be a forest?"

"Yes."

"Is that true for each smudge?"

"Um, maybe?"

"You don't even know?! How old is this map even?!"

"Uh, I think, around sixty years old?" Siesta figured out loud, making Brave smack her own face.

"Such a map will not be of use to us unfortunately," Brave said simply.

"I believe Uni wanted a map to help decide how the nearby environment could assist in helping protect this place."

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's the only map we have."

"I shouldn't be surprised at this, I really, shouldn't," Louise grumbled just before the sound of a loud crash and yells echoed from outside the building. "What was that?"

"Ah, yes," Siesta said nervously. "Well, you see. Fluer told you how everyone in Tarbes has, other ancestry, correct?"

"Yes, what about it?" 5PB asked curiously with a soft smile.

"Well there is one person in the village who is, not. The town priest who was sent here by the church. And since this morning he has been entertaining a Cardinal from Romalia. The cardinal was causing a ruckus and arguing with old man Maxis and Lawrence when I came to bring you the map."

"Oh, what were they arguing about?" Nepgear asked.

"Something about Heresy while old man Maxis was holding some kind of odd shaped jewel."

"An odd jewel?" Uni asked curiously.

"Yes, he's always had it in his home, so it was odd that he had taken it out. It's some kind of circle with a line coming out of it."

"Is the line floating between the circle?!" Nepgear suddenly exclaimed, as she, Uni and Louise's eyes all went wide at Siesta's description.

"Um, I think so-"

In that instant Brave threw the door open, Louise and 5Pb stood up, and with Nepgear and Uni, they all rushed to the door and out of it faster than Siesta could see or comprehend. Racing out of the room and building as quickly as they could, the girls left to find a crown gathered out on one street way of the village. Some people had clearly been bringing their still sleepy children to wherever the town safe cave was, while many others had been in the middle of acquiring materials and supplies. Yet there in the middle of the road where two pairs of people.

On one side there was Lawrence and old man Maxis. Maxis was on the ground, holding something in one hand against his chest, while her leg look injured with Lawrence standing on front of him with his arms spread to the side.

Across from them where two men, both in religious garb. The younger was wearing a simple white and blue robe of the Brimiric Church, while looking on in shock. The older man was in the red and gold robes of a Brimiric Cardinal, and while older, he looked like he was dangerously athletic, and was rubbing one knuckle, making it possible to discern what may have happened.

"Stand aside, lest I mark you as a heretic as well, commoner!" the old cardinal then said in a dangerous tone as he glared past Lawrence at old man maxis.

"I will not stand aside just so you can assault him!" Lawrence declared resolutely.

"He holds the icon of a heathen religion. He must be made to understand the mistakes he has made, and made to understand what correct beliefs are!" The Cardinal declared resolutely as he took a step forward and pulled out a wand, pointing it at Lawrence. "Do you still defend this heathen?"

Lawrence said nothing but glared at the cardinal, just as nearly every townsfolk did.

The cardinal let out a sigh and turned to the priest. "I am disappointed. You let such an infestation of disbelief grow so close to you!"

"No! I, that's not-"

"Then what is it?" The cardinal demanded without moving his wand away from Lawrence.

"The, the Dukes of this land, one of them is aware of this here, and he demanded by the name of Tristain's crown that I not report it!" the Priest yelled in a terrified tone.

"Hmph!" the Cardinal grunted as he suddenly swung his wand toward the priest, sending a thin and sharp shard of ice at him, impaling his chest. As the priest fell to the ground, townsfolk yelling in shock, he turned his wand back to Lawrence and continued to speak to the now dying priest. "We are the Brimiric Church! We do not answer to regents, warlords, commoners, foreigners, or even foreign heathen gods! They answer to us, and the Lord Brimir, and any who believe otherwise are heathens, unworthy of living in these blessed lands!" In that second the Cardinal let another ice shard loose at Lawrence. But his eyes went wide when suddenly Louise was standing in front of him, spear raised at him, and shards of ice scattered across the ground and the edge of her spears blade. "You, who are you girl? Do you not realize the crime you have committed by impeding my Right to punish unbelievers?"

Louise turned her head to the downed priest, who looked in extreme pain as he clutched the ice in his chest. "Nepgear, can you save him?"

"YES!" Nepgear declared as she ran over and knelt down beside him to heal him.

The Cardinal had other ideas however as he tried to swing his wand towards Nepgear. "You will not!"

"Yes, she will!" Uni countered as she shot the cardinals ice out of the air, and then took up a position between Nepgear and the Cardinal.

The Cardinal looked furious as his face turned as red as his robes. "You Heretics! How dare you stand in the Church's way! You will all burn for your heresy, and in death will you finally understand the founders glory!" He yelled at the villagers and girls. Then her turned to Louise and looked down at Maxis. "He holds an idol of a foreign God, and must be punished for it! Repent now or you will suffer like all of this village's foolish heathens, girl!"

Louise stood there for a second in perfect silence, no one sure what was going to happen. Then she finally spoke up, softly, barely audible to any but those closest. "Did you hit the old man? Simply because he had an object you did not recognize?"

"He carries the idol of a heathen god, claimed he was bringing it to goddesses of some heathen sort when I questioned him, and denied my demands that he hand it over and repent!" Then Cardinal spat. "I am here doing my job, and suddenly the entire village is overcome with madness and heresy, running around like it is the end times. Well, now that I know this whole village is a base for here, it will be the end time, for them!"

Louise was silent again for many seconds, then much to everyone surprise, and fear, she began chuckling, then her chuckling turned into a full on laugh. "I knew it, I knew this could happen. I knew the Brimiric church was insane, I knew it, all along. I just never wanted to admit it, even after the fact, as that would mean I had been just as mad! But now, now that I've heard you speak, I don't care anymore!" Louise declared grimly as her eyes flashed green, and stayed green. "You preach of your gods will, but I doubt anyone alive now has ever even read anything he wrote! You preach of your rights, as if they are more important than those of others living their lives! You preach and yell and make demands as if you are your god himself, so tell me, do you want to meet a god?" Louise asked, every part of her voice filled with power and hate to such an extent that arcs of barely discernable green energy began coming off of her body and touching the ground all around.

The cardinal seemed like his voice was stuck in his throat as he, and many others villagers, took steps back away from Louise. As they did though, an arc of energy touched Old man Maxis, making him twitch and let go of what he was holding. The Sharicite crystal fell to the ground, flashed once, and then floated up into the air, causing many to stare at it in wonder. The cardinal saw this and snarled. "Of course! I would prostate myself to the lord if I could see his glory myself! And to do so, I must cleanse heresy wherever it may lie!" He yelled as he swung his wand up, sending a shard of ice at the floating Sharicite crystal.

Only, when his ice struck it, the ice simply shattered, and the crystal was unscathed.

"I have never in my life wanted to admit my post so much as I do right now, so listen well!" Louise yelled. "I am Louise, Sister to the Goddess Green heart of Leanbox, and The Goddess Green Sister!" She declared as she forced her HDD, making the Cardinals eyes go so wide they seemed like they might pop out of her head.

In that same second, the Sharicite glowed and shattered, its dust like fragments tuning to a mist that moved and gathered around Green sister, as well as Nepgear and Uni. As it did, the two of them went HDD as well, seemingly at the Sharicite's will.

"You, you speak heresy, witch!" The cardinal yelled as he stepped backwards and swung his wand, sending another shard of ice and Green sister. She simply caught it in her free hand, and then crushed it with a scowl.

"She speaks nothing but truth!" Brave suddenly spoke up, as she stepped forward, drawing eyes, and making everyone present then notice Nepgears and Uni's changes. "Before you stand Green sister, Black sister and Purple sister, Goddesses of Leanbox, Planeptune, and Lastation!"

"What? I have never heard of such ridiculous places!" The Cardinal said as he took another step back and his expression became dark. "No, it doesn't matter, you will all burn! OH Founder, brilliant is your light and blazing your glory, I declare these fools before me enemies of the faith and with your mark, shall take them to hell to be judged by your righteous fury! Flame lance!" He chanted and pointed at Green sister. A Jet of flame tore through the air toward her, and Green sister only smirked.

"Void lance," she said simply under her breath as she thrust he spear forward, a beam of jet black energy tearing through both the jet of fire, and the cardinal himself.

The cardinal blinked a couple times then looked down, finding a hole the size of his fist going right through his chest. "Wha- what? How?"

"When he hit Old man Maxis, had he yelled anything?" Louise suddenly asked as the Cardinal fell to his knees, partly overcome by both the hole, and the lack of blood coming out of it.

"He did," Old man Maxis groaned in pain as he sat up, still holding his chest. "He yelled about holding sick a heathen object, and other hateful things, Lady Goddess."

"Wait, you think him having hit it and being angry, caused you to have that confusion earlier?" 5PB asked in sudden realization.

"Oh, that makes sense! Sharicite is the crystallization of people's faith in us and our sisters after all!" Purple sister exclaimed.

"That's what I figure. There are no other religions in Gameindustri really, so It seems that other beliefs can interfere with our shares," Green sister said coldly. As she rose a hand up and looked over it before smirking and changing back to Louise. "I think that sharicite gave us a big boost, I don't feel weak at all now!"

"And that means we can take out those ships now then!" Uni declared as she turned back with a smile and looked to Nepgear, who also had just turned back. "How is he?"

"I think he's fine. I healed the wound, but he's fallen unconscious," Nepgear said anxiously.

"alright, Take him with you to that cave you mentioned and keep gathering what you need," Louise said as she turned to Lawrence, seeing him and many other villagers kneeling before them. It made Louise scowl. "Alright, that's it, get up already! There is work to be done and kneeling there prostrating yourselves helps no one!"

"B-but, you are the Goddesses our forefathers spoke of!" Lawrence said, not looking up from where he knelt. "The stories claim that the stronger our belief, the stronger you will be and-"

"It's' true, that belief gives the Goddesses more shares, and more power," 5PB Said as she walked over and knelt down in front of Lawrence and Maxis. "But that doesn't mean you need to avert your gaze or prostrate or anything like that. Simply believing in them gives them strength."

"Yeah, we're not as crazy as that guy makes his god out to be," Uni muttered as she looked at the cardinal, finding he had died on his knees.

"Yes, so please, stand up, you don't need to be that serious around us!" Nepgear said with a smile, landing the final blow.

All the townspeople began getting up, awkward and uncertain smiles on their faces. But just as one of them opened his mouth to speak up, Louise suddenly ran over to a nearby building and jumped straight up onto the roof and looked off into the distance. ". . .crap, those ships are getting closer, and it looks like the suns going to come up soon."

"Oh no, the Albion's will come and-"

"Do not panic!" Brae suddenly called out, her voice strong and steely, cutting through the few people who had begun to speak. "We have the day to prepare! Continue moving supplies and your families to the safe cave!"

"Exactly, we will do what we can, so just worry about moving your stuff and being safe!" Uni added, setting off the villager into action once more.

"Ugh, I made it worse for us, didn't i?" Louise asked as she jumped down from the rooftop with a groan.

"Yeah, probably," Uni admitted, just before smiling. "But if you hadn't stopped that fanatic, I probably would have."

"Are all religious people in this land like that?" 5Pb asked nervously.

"Well, the more devout or fanatical, most nobles and religious workers I'd guess. But I can't say about regular common people," Louise admitted with a sigh.

"Right, well . . . we're out here and that map was useless. So let's take a look around as see what we can do to make this more in our favour!" Uni declared as she stretched he arms above her head.

"I'll go see if the townspeople need any help then, I probably won't be much use otherwise," 5PB said simply.

"Then I shall assist you, they appear like they would need all the help they can get," Brave agreed.

"Alright, so we'll look around the town and figure out the plans, I guess?" Nepgear suggested uncertainly.

Uni smirked. "No, we'll figure out where to best take out those warmongers. We've got our HDD now after all!"

"Yeah. Let's save this village!" Louise declared, all five of them letting out a hurrah.

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Captain Trevard of the Reconquista Battleship Defiant smirked as he looked out at the lands ahead of him and his ship. At the barely visible spires of The Castle of Tristania. He was finally here. It had taken a long time, beating the fools without plans, without intention, without any hope for Albion's future out of power. But now Reconquista controlled Albion, and now they were here in Tristania, ready to show them what true power was! Ready to show the weak whore princess just what war was all about!

They were already in Tristanian lands and had bombarded multiple towns and villages as they passed. They all had no defences, no real threat, but the possibility, however slight, of the commoners banding together and attacking from the rear was there otherwise. They would not have done much, but any danger to their supply lines had to be dealt with, so he had them dealt with, quickly, efficiently, and brutally. The best way to deal with any problem.

It would take them another few days to reach the Tristanian capitol, but there were a number of villages on the way that could be fun to deal with and make sport of. Artillery practice, raids, pillaging. All was fair game. And besides, will all the men they would kill in this war all those lonely women would need new men, ones who would show them where their place was!

"Sir, are you alright?"

Trevard tuned to see his XO standing nearby at attention. "Of course I am, why would I not be?"

"Well um, you had a strange grin on your face that was . . . unbecoming of one of your station. Sir."

Trevard scowled in annoyance. He had not chosen his second, simply had him put on his ship. Didn't even remember his name, but he was a young brat, so stuck up and proper, probably the son of a now dead noble or something, but that didn't matter. "Pah, enough of your foolishness, no grin is unbecoming with what we have coming to us!" Trevard proclaimed as he stepped closer to the railing to look down at the main deck of his ship, where dozens upon dozens of sailors and soldiers moved about and worked. "The sun sets behind us, and in a bare hour we will be attacking the Village of Tarbes, all forces be prepared for the joy that awaits us!" He roared, getting screams and shouts of agreement from his crew before turning back to his XO. "See, you are the one with odd opinions here. So keep them to yourself!"

The XO scowled but stayed standing at attention. "Sir that is the reason I came here actually. We've not gotten a report from our forward scouts on the ground. They have not returned, and should have hours ago."

"Eh? They're probably fine. Just enjoying the dangling fruit that awaits us!" Trevard said with a laugh as he licked his lips.

"Sir, I do not think you are taking this seriously! We are in enemy territory! Even if we have not encountered any real forces, does not mean that we will not! We need to-"

"I'll tell you what you need to do!" Trevard declares as he turned and slammed his fist into his XO's face, sending him to the ground. "You need to know you place, and do what I fucking say! There will also be none of your bullshit morality either, understand?"

"Yes . . . . .sir," the XO said in pain as he stood up and walked off, making Trevard smirk.

"Oi, Cap'n, got a fire by the village!" one of his sailors called, pointing ahead at the grassy hills they were heading toward.

"Oh really?" Trevard muttered as he pulled out his spyglass and looked ahead. Truthfully enough, there appeared to be a large fire, a bonfire perhaps, a ways away from the village of Tarbes in the middle of a field. "Looks like we've gotten lucky boys!" Trevard yelled happily. The village of Tarbes appears to be making merry tonight, so let's join in and use them to make ourselves merry!"

The entire crew yelled in agreement, the crews of other ships joining in, and the voices of the whole fleet turning into a mad cacophony of vile intention.

"Have our ships begin descending for troop deployment! Dragon knights can-" Trevard began, just until the sound of an explosion ripped through the air and a ship to his owns left was suddenly falling, its entire front end blown to pieces and aflame. "What the hell just happened?!"

"Unsure sir, the Tyrant suddenly took damage, more than even a bunch of cannons could do! It looks like it was hit by a fireball spell, several!" a crewman yelled, looking over the edge at the slowly falling ship, its crew trying desperately to level their ship out, or at least crash on their own terms.

A Flash In the distance by the bonfire caught Trevards attention. Then a second later he saw it, a Globe of pure glowing hatred searing through the sky, moving faster than any spell or cannonball. It soared right into the open hole of the Tyrants bow, and as it did the entire centre and backside of the ship erupted in a blast that must have struck both their power reserves and their wind stones, for the blast of fire covered his own ship and another further to he left, the remains of the tyrant instantly falling to the ground, no longer held up by any means.

"Oh founder, we're under attack! All forces to their posts! Man the guns! All Dragon knights have to fly! All forces prepare for emergency landings if we are struck! Whatever that thing is it hits like a spell has more range than our biggest cannon!"Trevard called, just before another shot seared past his ship and struck one of the dragon knight transports, blowing its entire front left side out with a massive shockwave that made him almost lose his footing. Just what the hell was shooting at them!?

"Sir, we have to either land, or retreat!" the XO suddenly yelled as he was up by the wheel with Trevard again. "We have no idea what that thing hitting us is! We need to send out a land force to scout it out and-"

"Shut up!" Trevard yelled as he pulled out a pistol and shot the XO in the leg, dropping him to the ground in pain. "Someone get rid of this pathetic fool! All ships spread out to avoid getting hit and push full ahead! We're destroying whatever that is and making whoever is using it pay!" He declared, just as another flash blinked in the distance. Then his entire ship shook and began losing altitude. "Did we get hit?"

"Sir, in our spine on the underside! We've lost most of our cargo, and the ships starting to break apart!" Came a reply from somewhere.

Trevard paused as the cry of dragons caught his attention, hundreds suddenly flying past his ship toward their foe. "Took them long enough. Stabilize the ship and-"

He was silenced when another unknown shot soared through the air and struck the ship barely a meter below him, blowing apart the whole main deck in a single shot. The ship crashed to the ground in barely thirty seconds.

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"I can't believe this is working so well!" Nepgear exclaimed as she watched a shot fly through the air and blow apart the centre of one of th flying ships.

"We'll, Airships are made of wood, so it's not that surprising," Louise said as she looked behind her, Nepgear and Uni to where a large Black machine sat. It had a large circular platform that allowed it to turn, but most of the weapons size was from its very large gun that glowed a malevolent color even when the barrel had cooled enough to fire. "I am surprised the Villagers had this in that cave though. What was it called again?"

"XMB Artillery," Uni answered with a smile. "It was supposed to be a long range artillery and siege gun designed to fight against other nation's armies and defences from way back before any of us existed. Back when our sisters were at each other's necks constantly. All of them were supposed to be locked away someplace though. The idea that one of them got pulled here with its operators, the villagers, ancestors, is a bit disturbing."

"Why? It's useful right?" Nepgear asked.

"She means it's disturbing because that means there could be other weapons or technology from Gameindustri here," Louise quickly surmised with a scowl. "I don't think they would know how to use them but . . . . ."

The sound of the Artillery firing again stopped Louie from continuing as she watched the shot core another ship, leaving only a single ship that had not been crippled, or outright blown to pieces.

"How many shots left!?" Uni called back, Brave raising a hand to show she was over by the gun

"We have nine left! But the machine appears to be very aged. It likely will not last past three more of them!"

"It's really sad, this thing does work!" 5Pb declared as she helped Brave load another round, "I can only imagine what this thing would to do an ancient dragon!"

"Probably not a lot, it takes too much time to line up shots from close range," Uni deadpanned with a sigh. "Once we take out that last ship we should set off the rounds from a distance."

"What? Why?" Nepgear asked in surprise.

"We can't let the local monarchs get their hands on it," Louise said seriously as she tightened her grip on her lance. "We're just lucky the other artefacts in that cave were too old, or already broken to be of use."

"But, shouldn't we take it with us?" Nepgear pushed.

"Not without being able to take it apart," Uni said with a shrug as another shot rang out, flying through the air and staking the nose of the last fully airborne ship, blowing it apart and taking many flying dragons with it. "Those dragons, are getting close, huh?"

"They are looks like it's our turn now!" Nepgear declared as she went HDD.

"Can we leave the destruction of the artillery to you two?" Uni asked as she went HDD as well, clearly aiming her question at Brave and 5PB as they came out from behind the artillery piece. Both of them looked a bit tired, but less than one would think.

"You can yes, I will give this weapon its final moment!" Brave said with a smile that told of plans better left unsaid.

"Sorry for having you do that," Louise said as she turned and walked up to 5Pb. "You and brave are heading to the cave with the townsfolk, right?"

"Right after we blow the gun, yes!" 5PB said with a smile, before she took a step forward, and very stealthily, pecked Louise on the cheek. "Stay safe.

"Ah, uh, I, uh, err," Louise rambled in embarrassment before she suddenly went HDD, instantly becoming calm. "You as well."

Then she flew off, right behind Black sister and purple sister, who had flown off seconds before.

"The plan is going well," Brave suddenly said as he walked over to the lowered barrel of the artillery, sliding a shell into the barrel from the front, point inwards.

"It's not a hard plan," 5Pb said as she walked over and began helping move other shells so they were directly underneath the gun, or placed around it. "If we hadn't found this old thing, it probably would have been a lot harder."

"I do not doubt Uni's power. It would not have been harder for them, just longer," Brave said as he walked over to the XMB's control panels an flicked a switch, causing the gun to begin lifting until it was pointing skyward, nearly straight up. "For us however, it would be more difficult. Uni has told me that I am strong, but I am simply simple and focused. I see my enemy and strike."

"Please, you're plenty strong. I'm the one who's weak. Sure I can take out monster but. . The idea of fighting, it scares me," 5Pb said, not mentioning that Louise had once admitted the same to her in the past. "I just hope none of those people get to the village. It would be nice if they surrendered."

"True, but that will be up to them," Brave said as he flicked another switch on the gun, causing it to whir. "I have set a firing timer. Let jus depart. And hope they surrender."

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"Whose bright idea was it to give them a chance to surrender?!" Black sister yelled as she dodged a dragons fire breath and swung her gun around, striking it in the neck with her barrel so hard the dragon went limp and fell to the earth.

"That would have been Purple's!" Green sister called back coolly, while on the ground fighting dozens of rabid soldiers at once, her twin spears killing with each flash and swing. The soldiers seemed insane, driven by madness and desires both violent and lecherous. They came at her like animals, no cohesion, and no strategy in their actions, making it easy to parry or avoid their blows, while using her far superior armour and speed to their fullest.

"I was just hoping we wouldn't have to resort to violence!" Purple sister called out in sadness as she flipped over a soldier, the tip of her gunblade clipping the back of his head and dropping him. Those around him didn't even seem to notice or care how easily she had killed him.

None of them did. It was like they were on some sort of drug high.

"Fools, you fight demons, pull back or die!" one man called, holding a staff high as he tried to form a wall of stone around him. It did nothing to stop Black sister's laser blast from punching through the stone and searing his shoulder, making him fall in pain.

It seemed not all of the Albion soldiers were high on battle, but the few that were not appeared to be mages or high ranked soldiers. Which was good, as it meant they could have information, something Black sister capitalized on as she flew down and snatched up the wounded mage with her free hand, lifting him effortlessly many dozens of feet into the air.

"Ah, release me demon!" The mage yelled, having dropped his staff when his shoulder had been skimmed, and making him defenceless.

"I could, but that's a long drop," Black sister said with a smile, for the time ignoring the rather insulting comment about being a Demon. "Why are you people attacking this country?"

"Why wouldn't we attack these blasted Tristanians and their Whore princess you demon! Now in the name of the founder, Release me!"

Hearing it again Black sister instantly got angry, and began floating up higher into the sky, taking a chance to shoot down on some forces as she did. "I am not a Demon. I, am, a, GODDESS!" She yelled as she let go of the man.

The mage fell through the air screaming like a mad man, and just before he hit the ground, Black sister swooped in and caught him with a smile.

"Now, feeling like talking?"

The man did not respond, his eyes blank and unfocused. Black sister placed a hand on his chest and scowled, dropping back onto the field of battle before she aimed up and picked off three dragons out of the sky. "Dammit, why are these people so flimsy and so willing to die!?"

"That's just how things are here," Green sister said as she stabbed a soldier in the throat, and then flipped over his body as he fell, allowing her to fillet a couple more in quick succession who had not expected to have her close in on them so quickly. "There are no abilities, no skills, no magic that just anyone can learn, and no experience to be gained from fighting monsters. At best most of these soldiers would be level . . . . . four, maybe five, when compared to us."

"Goodness, that low?" Green sister exclaimed in surprise, not seeing a sword swing down at her, only for it to collide with one of her wings and snap in half, making the soldier wielding it so bewildered he simply stared.

Until Black sister shot from above and reduce him to a smouldering mark." And here we are with the three of us in the sixties, and 5PB and Brave not much further behind us!"

"Most of them don't even have any armour; I just wish they'd stop fighting!" Green sister pleaded as she dodged a spear, grabbed it, and pulled it out of a soldier's hand casing him to fall to the ground and get promptly crushed by his fellow as they continued to storm towards them, seemingly uncaring about those around them.

"Most are wearing leather armour, but they are not acting right. There are too few mages, even if our artillery strike killed most of them. And no one is fighting even remotely intelligently."

"Yeah, it's like their under control, like that one time Trick almost mind controlled Rom and Ram!" Green sister exclaimed as she ducked and swung her blade, clearing an area around her and allowing her to fire a laser bolt through the field at a mage who had been trying, and failing, to hit her with bolts of fire for the better part of five minutes.

"Yeah, I just hope it isn't like that, it'd leave a bad taste killing them like this if they had no control," Black sister admitted with a sigh as she popped another dragon, putting their number to less than could be counted on two hands. "The dragons are fleeing! Looks like some of the troops at the back are as well."

"Good, it's easier to stab them when they are running," Green sister said unemotionally as she leapt into the air and hovered there. "It's time to end this, let's clean up! Explosive Barrage!"

On her world a dozen spheres of energy flew away from her in quick succession, blowing apart areas of the field, and taking anyone caught in the blast with them.

With such danger in font, and their rear collapsing, the soldier's morale broke, and the battle turned even more chaotic than it already had been as they began to scatter in every direction.

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Jonasia opened his eyes to find a stone ceiling above him. Was this hell? An earthen grave? His punishment for somehow not doing what was supposedly right? He didn't know. All he knew was that his whole body hurt, but his chest hurt a lot more.

That was right; he had been impaled by Cardinal Vuonis. He had always considered himself faithful. He opened a church in a town without one to spread the faith, but soon after discovered that the town, village more like as Tarbes was not large, was a place filled with what the church called heathens, those with drastically different beliefs.

His first action had been to report it to the local lord, a Duke who was a fat as he was pompous, and whose daughters seemed to enjoy harassing the village with their father's title. It was then when he found out that even that duke was under a command not to report it. So he tried to report it to the Tristanian crown, only to meet the messenger of the crown himself, Count Mott.

Mott then, without any sort explanation, ordered that he never report it to anyone, especially the church. Threatening him with death for disobedience if he did. It had solidified Jonasia's suffering in the village of Tarbes. He could not report their heresy to the founder and had to live with such people.

For years, he tried to show them the path, to make them understand, but none ever entered his church. It lay empty constantly, the only use being that of the occasional traveler. He was never rude, not intentionally, and tried to be pleasant to the villagers. They however only gave him the slightest of greetings, the coolest of receptions, and the smallest amount of words.

He prayed daily for some kind of response, a sign, something to tell him how to proceed, but nothing came. For a long time he had begun to wonder, to have doubts as to whether the founder cared at all for those not of the nobility.

Then Cardinal Vuonis came to the village, and he had though that finally his prayers had been answered! When training to be a priest of the faith he had worked with one Cardinal before, a pleasant man, willing to forgive and keep helping until someone understood their place. He had been a beacon for Jonasia in his youth, and he had prayed heartily for him when he passed from old age. He figured that another cardinal would be able to help him, to show him what he needed to do!

Instead Cardinal Vuonis turned out to be angry, at him, the village, and Tristania as a whole when Jonasia admitted the situation to him. He yelled, berated, screamed and verbally insulted his faith in the founder despite what Jonasia claimed. And after hours of such, when the village suddenly seemed to be a mecca of action, he dragged him out of the church to force the villagers to repent. Which then led to him assaulting an old man, and attempting to murder citizens of the country in cold blood.

It was true; the villagers were heathens, believing in Goddesses that they could not even say much about. It was true they had always given Jonasia the cold shoulder, had shunned him, and ignored him even when he tried to be pleasant and approachable. But murder was never the correct option; that was one thing his old mentor had drilled into him at an early age. So he tried to stop it, only to die himself.

Except the stone ceiling above him was clearly not on fire, so he clearly was not dead.

"What happened?" Jonasia said quietly with a sigh, unable to understand his current situation.

"You were saved by the Goddesses," Came a feminine voice.

Jonasia turned his head to the voice to see the village woman named Fleur sitting beside him on the ground. Looking past her he could see they were in a cave of some sort. Boxes and barrels were lying around in piles, villagers leaned against the walls calmly, and some of the children, who were not asleep, were playing in the centre of the cave.

"You mean, those five foreign girls?" Jonasia asked, recalling that their clothing had been outlandish, regal, and downright whorish in how much skin they showed. How could such little, ill clothed girls be goddesses?

"Yes, although only three of them are the Goddesses, the other two are their friends and companions. The one with purple hair, Lady Nepgear, Saved you by healing your wound until it was as it never happened."

Jonasia instantly sat up, ignoring the pain across his body, and looked down at his chest finding it bare. There was no hole, no scab, no blood, not even a scar to prove he had been killed. He knew the shard of ice had gone into his heart, he had felt it go in, and felt his life slip away. Yet here he was, impossibly alive. "How? I should be dead!"

"The Goddesses deigned for you to live," Fleur replied simply, a smile on her face.

"But . . . . . how? I have never heard of nay magic that could heal one whose heart was pierced!" Jonasia exclaimed, hoping for some sort of answer. No, perhaps he was hoping this was some sort of divine joke.

"They are goddesses; they do not use magic, not as Halkeginians understand it. MY father once told me that they possessed the most powerful of skills, strange abilities our forefathers had in the homeland," Fleur explained as she stood up. "Would you like to see them firsthand?"

"What?"

"The Goddesses, and their skills, of course," Fluer said as she offered Jonasia a hand up.

He took it, albeit Nervously. "What do you mean, what are they doing?"

"Why, defeating our enemies! Albion sent an army it seems. Our girl Siesta came to warn us as the crown knew, and felt it proper to sacrifice our village to help defeat them. Our Goddesses however, they deigned to help us in our time of need! And are showing the Albions what true strength is!" Fluer exclaimed as she led Jonasia through the cave, past many villagers, perhaps all of them.

Coming out of the cave Jonasia found them in the forest outside the village on a small hill, the village partly in view, but obscured by trees. Right in front of the cave stood two of the girls, including the one dressed like a whore with her belly and legs showing, surrounded by the bodies of dead Albion soldiers and mages alike. The skin showing girl held what looked to be an instrument of some kind made of metal, while the almost knight like girl was holding a broadsword, blood dripping off of it. Further out, across the tops of the tree's, Jonasia could make out what was clearly flaming wreckage of Sky ships. Above them flew three glowing light, one Green, one black, and one purple, each darting and moving around more elegantly than any mage or beast. The sounds of distant explosions and screaming from the distance were omnipresent, and it made him gape in shock.

"That's . . . how many ships?" Jonasia finally asked.

"Twelve," Fluer said simply as she smiled. "Using an artefact of our forefathers, they obliterated them out of the sky, and now finish them off!"

"But, sky ships are massive! How could these girls-"

"They are Goddesses, with powers far beyond the arrogance of mages! Even their friends are warriors of the highest caliber!"

As if to prove it, an Albion soldier burst from the tree's and rushed at the two girls. The knightly one dodged the soldiers swing with unnatural ease and swung her broadsword, bisecting the soldier in a splash of crimson.

Another soldier came out at the ill-dressed girl, swinging a battle-axe over their head like a maniac, but she simply spun around and swung her instrument into the soldiers stomach, sending them backwards into a tree with a crash. Which was impossible as unlike the first girl, she was small, thin, ,and looked completely unable to carry weapon, let alone swing an instrument so hard as to send someone into a tree and break the tree!

"H-how!?"

"The land of our forefathers is said to be one grander than all of Halkeginia, where shining towers of gleaming crystal and metal reach the sky, and the people live lives of pleasure. I know not how, but they clearly are more powerful for it!"

" . . . Those lights, are those three gir- Goddeses?" Jonasia said, correcting himself as he watched the lights in the distance danced and flew about over the remains of the Albion forces.

"Yes, they are. They are so beautiful!"

Jonasia could not help but nod. They were beautiful. Beautiful, powerful, compassionate, caring, defiant, all things that he always thought a god should be. They did what they wanted to protect those around them, they even protected him, a priest of another faith, someone the Brimiric church made clear should be killed out of principle.

Taking in a deep breath, Jonasia looked down to see his Brimiric Medallion, an iron wrought pentagram, hanging from his neck still. It was cold against his chest, and had done nothing to protect him from the ire of the Cardinal, one who should have been his ally through and through. "Miss Fleur, Friends of the Goddesses!" He suddenly spoke up, grabbing their attention as he grabbed the Brimiric pendant and yanked it off of his person. "I had made a horrid mistake, and now realize what I must do. Please, tell me all there is to know of these Goddesses!"

 **Authors end note- The XMB Artillery I used is from the Neptunia mod for civilization 6, if people were curious.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Edit : Fixed some typos, mainly belief related. Still not sure how that happened honestly.**

Queen Henrietta De Tristain let out a low, barely audible sigh as her horse continued to trot forward under the Night time moons. Surrounding her was a grand army of soldiers, knights and mages all ready to give their lives for the country, for her.

It sickened her. She never wanted to become queen. She never wanted the responsibility, the baggage, the pain. Her mother couldn't take it when her father passed away and so the title of queen passed to her, whether she wanted it or not.

Her detractors would always say that she was too kind, too weak, to caring to make the hard choices that a reagent needed to make. She mostly agreed too.

She was too nice; she hated causing pain or suffering. She was too kind. She'd willingly let herself get hurt to save someone else, or stop someone from being injured. And she was not as powerful a mage as many others. She was good at healing, but she never had the same teaching as many other nobles as she had never gone to the magic academy.

She was weak. She hadn't been allowed to cry when her father passed.

She was too kind. She couldn't push away prince whales, and her old love for him had come to the surface and ruined her arranged marriage to a Germanian prince, and started this war.

She was too caring. She had wanted to stop the war to stop the people from suffering, yet many nobles were all for it, saying things like they needed to put Albion in its place.

It made her so sad that people were so willing to kill and hurt others. But it made her sadder than there was only one person she could really talk to. Her musketeer captain, Agnes De Milan. But as a servant to her, Agnes would never say ill of her, or never word it as such. She wasn't her old childhood friend who she could speak plainly too. She wasn't Louise.

But Louise wasn't around anymore, and she didn't even know if she was alive or dead. She was just simply gone without a trace. No one, not the musketeers, the professors at the academy, or the Valliere family could find her. It was as if she had turned to thin air.

"My Queen, our scouts have returned with strange news!" Declared General Gramont as his horse suddenly came up beside Henrietta's. General Gramont was a large, broad shouldered man with a powerful presence and the strength of a mountain. A mage who specialized in earth magic and a skilled general in both leading troops intelligently, and in defending themselves when needed. He was well respected, and a good man who cared for those around him and under his command.

"General Gramont, what do you mean?" Henrietta asked in worry. It was not often that he called anything strange after all.

"Well. . . . I think you'll see in a moment," He said nervously. We are about to crest the hill and see the plains."

Henrietta nodded and waited, and a few minutes later as they crested the hill, revealing a scene that neither she, nor any of her generals, or mages ever thought they would ever see. The plains were only called that, and in truth had patches of forest spread around it, one of them partly hiding the small village of Tarbes. Past it, down the plains, were the smoking wrecks of wooden ships. Some looked partly whole, while others were little more that splinters sticking out of the landscape. Surrounding the wrecks were what was clearly a massive number of people, maybe bodies, and across the plains were the telling torches and lights reflected off the armour of soldiers. But they were not grouped up or moving cohesively. They were broken, scattering. High above them where a trio of glowing lights. One green, one purple, and one a blackish color barely discernable in the night sky. They darted around with speed greater than the fastest dragon, and each time one neared the ground, groups of soldiers exploded apart with distant screams.

"What, is that some sort of spell?" Henrietta asked in confusion. As far as she knew Tarbes was simply an out of the way village with nothing to its name. Even the count of its land was a less noble that she knew admittedly little about.

"It is no spell I have ever heard of, and it moves too fast for a dragon," General Gramont said. "My scouts also note that the Albion army was breaking, but it appears it had already broken. Whatever these things are, they are doing insane work on their forces."

"What are they though? Spirits?" Henrietta asked quietly.

"Possible, but I have never heard of spirits that glowed so brightly, or were so small," Gramont said as they watched the three lights bounce around, then suddenly spiral up into the sky, and down into a nearby patch of trees where they disappeared. After a few minutes of silence General Gramont smiled. "They are gone, good. Now we can act without the lights unnerving the soldiers. My Queen! The Albion army is broken and in disarray, what are your orders?"

It took a few seconds, but eventually Henrietta nodded. "General Gramont, we will make camp here with what forces we need to defend the camp. Do what you must to contain the scattering Albion forces. We cannot allow them to run rampant through our lands!"

General Gramont's smile grew wider. "A well worded order, your majesty!" He declared as he rode off and began shouting orders in a tone that was beyond anything Henrietta could hope to reach. Her voice was just far too timid to yell at others, to command whole groups. To give the order to kill people. Just saying the words to General Gramont made her stomach roil and rage against her will.

She hated this. She hated all of it. Why did she have to be queen? Why could her mother not . . . no, she couldn't start thinking like that, she wouldn't let herself think like that!

"My queen, may I have a moment?"

Henrietta turned to see the Royal messenger, Count Mott, standing to the one side. His cloak partly covered his body, but he was clearly wearing armour, and the original plan was for him to work with the rear-guard and help defend the camp when they set it up. Something many soldiers were attending to as other began charging out down the plains toward Albions scattered forces. "Yes, of course, what is it Count Mott?"

"Once the camp and your tent are set up, I will require a meeting with you, General Gramont, as well as your musketeer captain. However, I would ask that the Cardinal, Not be part of it."

"May I ask why? Cardinal Mazarin is a trusted man I have known for my whole life," Henrietta stated seriously.

"I realize that, but what I must speak of may be something that he may consider Taboo," Count Mott stated quietly. "It is however, up to you, and not I, who you bring to what I must say. All I ask is that you please make some time for what I must tell you."

Henrietta stares for a few seconds before nodding. "Very well, shall we see how the camp preparations are coming along then?"

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By the morning the army camp was fully made, and was already holding hundreds of Albionese soldiers captive in a sectioned off area. Most that they had captured were in a daze. Talking and acting like they either had no idea what was going on, or raving about beautiful flying women who had devastated their army. Some called them Valkyries, the Founders angels, while others called them demons, and some even called them goddesses off destruction. The Albion forces were so shaken and tired they had not even put up a fight for the most part. And those that did had been quickly dealt with.

Inside of the command tent were all the ones that Count Mott had requested, in addition to the Cardinal, and all of them were getting impatient for Mott refused to speak.

"What is this about Mott, why did you have the queen have us here, to make a mockery of us and the chain of command?" Agnes asked in anger.

"No," Count Mott said simply. "We are simply waiting for someone else."

"May I ask who?" General Gramont asked calmly. "My men can keep looking for Albionese forces, but I would prefer to lead them myself."

"You do not need to worry General," Count Mott said with a smirk. "You may enter."

As soon as Count Mott said the word, one side of the tent lifted up and a well-shaped woman slid under it and into the tent with the quiet of a snake stalking its prey, surprising all in the tent aside from Mott. The woman had black hair and a large bust with wide hips and a narrow waist that would garner any man's gazes. She was wearing heavy black boots, black pants made of heavy material and a dark black leather Bustier that made her ample bust seem even larger. Over her shoulders was a half cloak that went down to just her covered belly, and on her waist tied to a thin belt was a small dagger as well as a small wooden case. Most unnerving was that her cloak has a hood that she wore over her head, making it difficult to see her face. "Sir, I apologize for my lateness,"

"It is no problem!" Count Mott said with a chuckle as he looked at General Gramont and Agnes, both of whom had their weapons drawn and their eyes filled with worry. They had after all, not heard the woman outside the tent, or slip in.

"Count, who is this woman?" Agnes demanded to know, her tone terse and forceful.

"Yes, allow me to handle the introductions. But first a small lesson. General Gramont knows this, but the rest of you do not. Long ago, my family was ordered to create a sort of Secret network to monitor the country, mostly for sedition and violation of the crowns rules. This is Siesta of Tarbes, one of my best Agents!"

"I apologize for my lacking introduction and sudden appearance my queen, please forgive me," Siesta said with a bow, her tone calm and strangely devoid of feeling, like she was holding back her emotions.

"No, if you serve Count Mott, and he knew of your presence, then I suppose that means you are well trained, yes?" Henrietta said, hoping to try to calm everyone down. "Count Mott, may I ask why she is present though?"

"Of course. " Siesta is one of my agents, and a native resident of Tarbes. I had sent her before we marched to go and warn them, so the villagers could evacuate and be safe. But it appears they did not, and she was in the village this past night. What she reported to me was what caused me to ask for this meeting, you majesty."

"And what would that be?" Cardinal Mazarin asked calmly, taking the whole thing rather well.

Count Mott let out a sigh. "To understand the whole of her report, you must be well versed in a secret that the village of Tarbes holds, one that I was sworn to secrecy by the last king," Count Mott said, causing Henrietta to gasp slightly. It was not often many spoke of her late father. "I will say this secret, with the understanding that it does not leave this room. The Village of Tarbes history goes back a mere ninety years, and that is because it was first made by people from outside of Halkeginia."

The tent had a synchronous gasp at that, but Count Mott continued, not allowing anyone to interject.

"These people carried many strange items and clothing with them, including odd beliefs that had never been heard of, yet your majesties grandfather allowed them to form a village of their own where those like them, a number of who would appear during the next few decades, would come to live. He even allowed them to keep their beliefs, albeit in secret."

"Hold up, you mean to say they are heretics and the crown allowed this?" Cardinal Mazarin asked, still surprisingly calm despite his own question.

"Yes, that is precisely it," Count Mott stated. "The village of Tarbes as a whole was formed by foreign people with many beliefs, but one, the most numerous one, ended up becoming the village's main belief that it practiced in secret still. Do you understand thus far your majesty?"

"Yes, I believe I do. May I ask what these beliefs entail?" Hentietta asked, before her expression shifted. "May I also ask what you meant by they carried strange items with them?"

"The items were equipment and weapons made in ways that were not understood then . . . and still would not be," Count Mott admitted. "They were sequestered away in a cave near Tarbes. As for the basics of the beliefs . . . Siesta, please explain, and then move onto your report."

"Very well sir. May I begin?" Siesta said, and then asked Henrietta.

"Please do. I would like to hear what your villages beliefs are to know how they deviate from the Brimiric faith."

Siesta paled slightly at Henrietta's words, but quickly composed herself and cleared her throat. "the beliefs of my village are those of our forefathers from our homeland, a place called Gamesindustri. They entail the belief in a number of Goddesses that protect the land and people, empowered by the people's belief in them. The stories claim four goddesses of the colors of black, white, green and purple who can fly and who could sunder entire lands if they so choose."

Henrietta and General Gramont both gasped as they recognized the colors, somehow connecting the dots, but also knowing, hoping, it could not be true.

"But, how does your villages beliefs connect to the events of last night?" Mazarin asked, not understanding the situation, but strangely not being angry at hearing about heathens in the land.

"Last night, five girls came to the village. A visiting cardinal declared the village heathens when a local priest told him of some things he knew despite not knowing the village's secret in full. He attempted to kill the priest, and the girls intervened with power that became clear as ability from our homeland. Three of the girls were able to change into their Goddess forms, killed the cardinal, and then proceeded to organize the village's inhabitant to take safety, and worked to destroy they Albion army."

"What? Five girls posing as religious icons?" The general asked in disbelief.

"No. Two girls, and three goddesses," Siesta Corrected. "They used an old artificer of our forefathers to blow the Albionese skyships out of the sky, then flew over and broke the army. The two other girls, mostly protected the villagers cave, and were unrivalled in their strength and skill."

"Surely you exaggerate. Three women against an army?" the general asked, hoping he was right. "And two women could not protect a cave of civilians unless they were trained soldiers. Were they even armoured?"

"One, a girl named Brave, was partly armoured. Clad in silver and gold and robes, like a paladin from old stories. Her sword was large and moved like it was a small knife in its speed, while her off hand was covered in a metal gauntlet shaped like the claw of a great demon, capable of gouging a person's whole chest apart, as it did many times. The other girl, a slight one who dressed skimpily wielded some sort of strange string instrument, and was capable of swing it so fast and strongly that it was capable of sending fully armoured soldiers into the air or into tree's many meters away. And they are weaker than the three Goddesses!"

The tent was quiet for many moments as everyone present tried to take everything Siesta and count Mott in. After many moments of silence Henrietta spoke, albeit not very loudly. "Was there anything else about them? Do you believe they may be a danger to Tristania?"

" . . . . May I have permission to speak freely your majesty?" Siesta asked calmly.

"You may."

"Fromm listening in on their conversations, they do not know how they came to Halkeginia, but intend to return to Gameindustri and take any villagers who wish to with them," siesta said, before her expression grew oddly dark. "However, if anyone was to attempt to impede them, or hurt those who believe in them, I do not believe they would hold back. I believe they would only be a danger if provoked."

"And, do you think they could aid our nation?' General Gramont asked, clearly looking for use in their presence.

Siesta however looked both visibly ill, and dangerously angry. "General. With respect; they are the goddesses of my forefathers land, and more powerful than you can imagine. Most importantly, they live among the people and as such can be similar to the people and leagues apart as well. If you think you could manipulate, or blackmail the goddesses into serving royalty when they are Goddesses in charge of protecting the people, their ire would echo across the land, and the nobility and ranks of those here in Halkeginia would mean nothing to them!"

"They are simply heretics masquerading as-" General Gramont began to say, but stopped when Count Mott suddenly covered his mouth.

"I would not say such a thing, General," Count Mott said as he pointed to Siesta, who had already drawn her knife and was holding it in a backwards grip. "Siesta may be an agent of mine, but she is from Tarbes, and has kept her beliefs all her life. She is primarily an agent at gathering information, but I have trained her in some facets of assassination, and combating opponents larger than herself. Siesta, we are done here, thank you for the report, you may gather your other uniform and return to Tarbes. Please keep me updated as you can to developments please."

Siesta put her knife away in an instant and bowed. Then, quicker than anyone could react she slunk under the tent side without making a single noise or even the shuffling of dirt.

" . . . you let such people work under you for the country?" General Gramont asked incredulously after a few moments of silence.

"Of course. . . . There was one other thing that she did not get to. The descriptions of the three girls the village are stating are their forefathers Goddesses."

"And why does that matter when they are clearly mages masquerading?" Agnes asked.

Count Mott shook his head. "I trust my agent's musketeer, if they were mages she would have said so," Count Mott said seriously. "One goddess has black hair and a moderate but shapely form and carries a rifle of unknown ability that fires the light of the sun itself. Another had purplish hair and a moderate body with a loving and caring personality while wielding a sword of pure power. The third was the most interesting, as siesta gave the most amount of detail to her. A slightly short girl with long blonde hair and green eyes whose personality was like fire spitting out of a sconce set to blaze by a tempest."

"How is that important?" Cardinal Mazarin asked curiously, noticing that Henrietta's breath had hitched for a second.

"Because. Siesta used to work at the magic academy for a time, and she told me that this this goddess, aside from the color of her hair and eyes, was the spitting image for looks, body shape and personality to a student from the academy, and even shares her first name. Louise de La Valliere."

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"My lord, I have news," A woman in a cloak said as she stood at the corner of a study full of alchemical ingredients, magical logs and inscription sheets.

"And it is?" Asked the blue haired man behind the desk, his grin wide.

"Our forces of Albion have been defeated and routed. The survivors are being captured and interrogated for information."

"Oh? I expected it would take longer. Did Germania come to the rescue?"

"No sir, it seems, from our reports, that a group of three lights destroyed the army."

"Light frigates? I didn't realize Tristania had a navy to-"

"No sir, lights. A trio of glowing lights that flew through the sky causing death and destruction, sir."

"That is, new. . . . What do you make of it?"

"Perhaps it is a form of magic, or some kind of familiar creature, but neither should be capable of the level of destruction I saw unless Headmaster Osmond of the magic academy was the one using it."

"I agree, it does not add up." The man said as he stroked his clean cut bear in thought. "I take it you wish to investigate?"

"I do yes."

"Who do you wish to send?"

"I suggest we send you niece, sire,"

"Not our new toy?" He asked with a chuckle.

"The work on their mind is still ongoing sir. However on that subject, I do believe it is time to start the preparation for the final part of their training."

"I see. I will need to think of a new name for them then, after all, the name, what was it again? Saiko?"

"Saito sir, his name is Saito, at the moment."

"Ah yes, thank you. That is hardly a name that will fit when we complete our work and see the effects. Do you have any suggestions my dear?"

"Perhaps the name Suina? It sounds close to his name, and is from the Far East I have heard. Perhaps most important though, I believe it will help solidify the final act of subservience."

"Yes, I believe you have a point," the man said with a chuckle. "Forcibly summoning people from other worlds only to break their minds, train them, and turn them into willing slaves to my will. If I had considered the idea a bare few years ago, I'd have thought it impossible!"

"Yet here we are doing just that," the woman commented simply before stepping into the room. "Sire, if I may make a suggestion?"

"Of course, what is it my dear?"

"As loathe as I am to suggest it, once we have made him into a far prettier her, I would suggest showing her some affection."

The man seemed taken aback for a second and then let out a loud laugh. "Goodness, I never thought you would suggest such a thing. May I ask why?"

"As a woman, such an act may bind her to you more powerfully than just he forced contract. And if the promise of more makes her work harder, it will be of great benefit. It would also sit as a test to see how strongly she can be broken to your will for if we decide to do more with this experiment."

The man thought about and then let out a sigh. "I will consider it."

"Thank you, sir. Then I shall send the message to your nice and have her look into the situation around the field of battle. Perhaps she will find the culprit."

"If she does, make sure she is ordered to bring them to me. Creatures of such power, they should serve those with the will to do great things after all!" The man declared before gasping in realization. "That reminds me. How has our hunt for the knife eared void mage gone?"

"Not well as of yet sir. All we have done is confirm her general location, somewhere in the Aleesa forest in Tristania's east, but we have not been able to pinpoint it more exactly."

"I see, keep at it my dear," the man said with a chuckle. "With luck, soon the name of Joseph of Gallia shall ring across the land as the one who shall become the emperor of a new world order!"

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"Your Holiness, I have a report to make that is of great interest," Julio Chesare said quietly as he stepped up beside the Pope of Romalia's throne. Though the room was empty he did not allow himself to move closer than he was, it would be rude after all, and Hardly fitting for his status as a Priest, and as Vindalfr.

"Of course Julio, I always have time to hear what you say," the pope said softly as he looked to Julio with a smile. "What can you report to me?"

"I, regret to inform you that one of our holy men of the Cloth, Cardinal Vuonis, has passed away while trying to spread the word of our lord," Julio said solemnly.

The popes expression became sad in an instant. "Vuonis was one of our most devout. His loss will be felt for many years to come. Where was he preaching our lords words?"

"Tristania."

"Ah. If memory serves, Albion should be in the middle of fighting Tristania in a pointless war. For one of our own to die such an ignoble death, it saddens me greatly."

"With respect your holiness, I do not believe he was killed due to the fighting between nations," Julio spoke up with a tenseness in his tone that was unusual. "His jewel was cracked early last evening, easily a half day before fighting between Albion and Tristania was estimated to begin."

" . . .you believe he was killed, not by soldiers, but by others then?"

"Yes sir. Our scholars and mages, one was scrying the battle and mentions that he saw lights, very unlike any in scripture, destroying the Albion army alongside the cracks of thunder and flashes of the sun itself in the night-time sky. There is talk that perhaps heretics and blasphemers have summoned demons, and that they were responsible for his death, and killing the faithful."

"Goodness. And our priests and scholars are sure of this?" The pope asked in worry.

"No your holiness, but that is what they believe. Until we can confirm the situation, there is no way to be sure. I would ask that you allow me to either send someone to investigate, or to investigate myself!"

"Then do so please. Investigate the cause of Cardinal Vuonis's death, and bring his body back to us for a proper service if possible. And if you find those responsible for his death, do not endanger yourself unless you believe you have a chance. Understood?"

"Yes sir, I shall leave immediately!" Julio said with a bow as he turned and walked briskly out of the room. As he walked through the halls he suddenly took a turn into one wing of the holy city and eventually came to high balcony area that was shadowed from the sun. A perfect place for rest and relaxation.

 **"So, how did it go?"**

Or for a secret meeting.

Julio let out a sigh and leaned on the sill, looking out at the sea in the distance. "It went well; I have my orders to look into the situation. Are you sure the fallen demons will be there?"

 **"Of course! I have no way of knowing how many, but I know they are there. It will just be a matter of how well they are hiding, or converting the faithful."**

"A crime in and of itself," Julio said with a sigh. "How are our more . . . . Our other plans going?" Julio asked, not sure exactly how to word his thoughts on the matter.

 **"Well enough. The appearance of the demons will make them go smoother, but require proof of their existence, and the pop to mobilize."**

Julio let out a sigh and turned around to look at the woman he was speaking to. She was a beautiful woman in her form, but not her function. She had a mature and bountiful body that one outside of the priesthood would be very willing to make advances on, but her dark greyish purple skin was a danger, a mark of one who fell to death itself. She was not dead, as Julio had confirmed in secret when they first met. But the fact that she claimed to be a fallen guardian of a lost nation from the past, looking for revenge against the demons that destroyed her people was strange, as no information Julio could look up matched anything she said. She was extremely skilled at infiltration, information manipulation and many other skills however, and had been of great used to him in the last few weeks that she had been around.

"I know. I'll find what we need. But I would like you to accompany me to assist in looking."

 **"That is a bad idea. The demons may recognize me. And if they do they will react violently in an instant. That whole county could be destroyed in an instant, and you and I along with it. As long as they think I am dead, you may act without such a danger. Or would you prefer to die young, and not claim popehood for yourself?"**

Julio tensed at her words. She was his accomplice, and had sworn to serve him as long as her own revenge was sated in the process, but hearing his own desire said out loud worried him. "Quiet, do not speak of such thing out loud Arfoire!"

 **"Apologies. What would you have me do while you are investigating however?"**

" . . Keep yourself hidden and keep gathering information on all the priesthood. Anything that can later be used against them will be useful to us. Just do not be discovered!"

 **"Of course, you ne not worry. I shall find everything we need!"**

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A Pair of elves pushed aside the flaps of a tent, allowing hot, dry light to burn into the tents inside and onto the single occupant of the tent. They were a woman in shape, but she was taller than most elves or humans and had a bluefish white horn seemingly made of metal coming out of her skull on one side. Her clothing had once been fine, possibly a suit or uniform of black and blue, but now it was mere shreds of what it once was. Her white hair was frayed and unkempt, and she was chained to a post in the centre of the tent by a chain that went around one ankle.

After a few moments a third elf, one who was far older, stepped into the tent and looked at the woman. "I am told you claim to be some form of foreign goddess. Is that correct creature?"

"Y-yes. It is. Or was, once," the girl said sadly, holding back tears that were barely contained. "I'm just a failure now."

"It has been decide that we will give you a chance to prove it," the old elf said as one of the other elves took out a thick metal waistband. "You will go with some of our own to retrieve semen from nearby lands, the child of one of our lost women, and a human mage!" he said, spitting the last few words.

The woman looked up at the waistband and her eyes went wide as sigils across it began glowing as an elf muttered under his breath. "What, what is that?!"

"A Belt. One that will make sure you cannot run away." The elder said simply, as if nothing was wrong with it.

"You don't intend to give me a choice, do you?"

"No. if you truly are a fallen goddess form a far off land, your power may be what we need to destroy the humans who endanger us. Put it on her."

"No, don't touch me! Don't do this, it is wrong!" The woman screamed as she writhed against her restraints and tied to resist. The two elves however still managed to get the belt on her waist and tighten it, and as soon as they did she went limp.

"Good. Can you hear me woman?"

"Yes." She replied neutrally, as if all the emotion had been sucked out of her.

"Good. What is your name?"

The woman looked p at the elves, tears of pain and sorrow slipping from her pained eyes as her unemotional voice slipped from her lips. "Rei Ryghts."


	19. Chapter 19

**Authors note: So yeah, sorry for the lack of updates. I've was painfully busy with D &D homebrew preparations, Adventurers league preparations, work and other things as well. I'll try to get thing back to a reasonable speed of updates.**

"Are . . . are they still asleep?" Jonasia asked as he sat in Tarbes Tavern with Fleur. It was midday, hours after the Albionese had been routed, and hours after the Tristanian army had come by during their rounding up of the Albionese. A handful of soldiers were hanging around the village to keep it under guard while the villagers moved their supplies back to their homes, but most soldiers were either at the nearby army camp, or across the countryside hunting for remaining Albionese forces.

All while the Goddesses and their friends were sleeping.

"Yes," Fleur said simply as she took a quick sip from a tankard of ale from on the table between her and Jonasia. "The stories say that, while they may be gods, even they have their limits, and no beings endurance can last forever."

"I believe it," Jonasia said with a light and uncertain chuckle. "After how much devastation they caused, I'd be more scared if they still had energy to spare. They truly are Divine!"

"Of course, they are goddesses!" Fleur answered in a tone that made it sound as if it was obvious. "Though, hearing a man in Brimiric Priest clothing say that is . . ."

"Ah, yes well. . . . From what you've told me these past few hours, and from what I saw before. I suppose it could be considered a crisis of faith to some," Jonasia said with a forced chuckle before hanging his head down, staring into his own tankard. "For years I thought I was doing right, holding my beliefs as my crutch in hard times, and using them to help lead me to the correct actions. I always wanted to help people, no matter what form of help they needed. The church, being a priest had seemed perfect, and my teacher who had held the same beliefs I did, made it seem so easy. After he passed, things began to . . . slip. I came here to spread the faith, to help people find their place, and my doubts grew as everything occurred. No, my doubts had been growing since long before, since the day my teacher passed I suppose."

"Oh, how so?" Fleur asked, seeming very curious, and not at all taking notice of Brave as she came quietly halfway down the stairs to the empty tavern floor.

"I slowly noticed things, priests who garnered prizes and possessions, who seemed far more entitled, far richer than a priest ever should have been. I tried going to high priests and cardinals about it, but nothing ever changed. I had been looking for a beacon some form of sign, of recourse, for a long time. I had thought when Cardinal Vuonis came here that was it; I could get the answers I needed!" Jonasia stated as he placed his arms on the table and rested his head on them, his face down against the beer stained wood. "What a true fool I have been. I knew many in the church were corrupt, yet I did not wish to believe it. And then a cardinal tries to kill me for not being heavy handed, when a priest is supposed to help people!"

Fleur looked at Jonasia and trued to think of something to say, but eventually just sighed. "I believe in the goddesses, but until this night, I will admit, often I had my own worries about the truth of our villages beliefs and traditions. My grandfather once told me that you earn the most from faith when it is tested, but . . . . . ."

"Even the Goddesses are not perfect. No one is," Brave decided to speak up as she came down the stairs, causing both Fleur and Jonasia to turn to her in surprise.

"Ah, Miss Brave! Did you rest well?" Fleur asked immediately, being the ever skilful Barkeep.

"I did, thank you," Brave said with a smile. "As it is, all of us did, and we've managed to get a connection up, so I came down to invite you both as Histoire wishes to speak to you."

"Histoire?" Jonasia asked in confusion at the name. Over the night Fleur, as well as 5PB and Brave, had explained much of the basic structure of the CPU's Religion, but that was not one that had come up.

"Histoire is the Oracle of Planeptune, as well as a Artificial construct made by the first goddess that holds all the knowledge of Gameindustri!" Both Fleur and Jonasia stood up in an instant, making Brave smile. "Shall we then?"

"Of course! They are upstairs in their room?" Fleur asked, not wanting to be presumptuous.

"Yes, let's head up," Brave said as she led the way back up the stairs. As she opened the door though, the scene was not what either of them expected.

The Goddesses and 5PB were all sitting on the beds, while a small object of some sort sat on the table that had been pulled closer. Floating above it was a ghostly and transparent image of a small woman with fairylike wings sitting on a book that was larger than her.

"How can you be so reckless? You could have been put in even greater danger and what if your HDD's had cut out prematurely! You are Goddess candidates and you need to conduct yourselves as such!"

And it appeared to be verbally reprimanding them.

"People were in trouble, and it is our job to help the people!" Louise said simply as she let out a light groan. "And these people believe in us, as we explained."

"That does not mean you act so recklessly, especially with what you have told me before, and just now about how Halkeginia can be!" Histoire shrieked, her arms flapping indignantly as her wings were.

"Um, Histy, please calm down. We are sorry, really. But we couldn't let innocents be hurt and turn a blind eye!" Nepgear said in an almost pleading tone.

It seemed to have an effect as Histoire slumped forward. "Goodness gracious, I had hoped such a thing like this would not happen so soon again after you and Neptune had it happen to you. At least you are all alright."

"Um, on that note, are our sisters doing alright? We haven't worried them too badly, right?" Uni asked quietly.

Histoire glanced up at Uni and shook her head. "No, they are not too panicked yet as you all have only been gone for about seven hours. I'll be calling each of them and explaining the situation once we are done here."

"Wait, seven hours?" 5PB asked as she tilted her head and was putting her fingers up and down like she was counting in her head. "I think we've been here for almost twelve hours though."

"Closer to thirteen I think actually," Nepgear added.

"I see, that is good. It means the time difference between these two dimensions is only one to two, instead of the day equalling a year that the ultra-dimension was," Histoire said with a thankful sounding sigh. "I should be able to get you all back here, but it will take time."

"What about the citizens here?" Nepgear spoke up. "They are descendants of our people. Is there a way to bring them back to Gameindustri?"

Fleur felt her lungs stop for a second at Nepgears words. Even in a foreign place, she was intent on helping them!

"It should be possible, but doing so will cause it to take more time to be done," Histoire replied instantly, as if she had already considered the answer before the question had been asked "Those people would also need to have identification work done, and I would like to speak to some of them to understand their views before the idea of them being brought over is entertained."

"That is good as I have right them, as requested," Brave spoke up, causing everyone in the room to look at her in surprise. "5PB and I believed you would wish to speak to these two in particular!"

Histoire looked at Brave and the two with her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Very well. Come forward please. I have questions, as it appears you do as well."

"Should we leave you in private for now?" Nepgear asked thoughtfully.

"If you wish, nothing I wish to ask requires solitude," Histoire said before smiling. "Though it may take a decent amount of time."

"I'm going for a walk, I've rested enough!" Nepgear declared as she stood up instantly.

"Same here! Fresh air is important!" Uni agreed as she got up.

"I can explain a bit about the country while we're out!" Louise stated as she grabbed 5PB's hand and dragged her toward the door.

"Brave, you coming?" Uni asked as she held back at the door, Nepgear, Louise and 5PB already having ran out.

"I, shall be right behind you," Brave said, curiously uncertain in her tone as she replied to Uni.

Uni shrugged and then went away from the door, closing it behind her before going down the stairs to the taverns bottom floor where the others were. "Brave will be down in a second."

"Her funeral then. Histoire looks pissed, and I'm not being stuck with her there to reprimanded anymore!" Louise declared as she walked over to a window on the side of the tavern floor and looked out of it. It was easily midday, and she could see villagers walking around doing their daily work as calmly as possible.

"Histoire isn't that bad, she was just worried about us," Nepgear said even as she looked around at the empty tavern floor. "It really is empty, huh?"

"Everyone probably out working or something, right?" 5Pb asked softly.

"Yes. Unlike in Gameindustru where people can take days off, regular people in halkeginia can't. If they don't work in the fields, tending their crops, feeding their livestock, or working their stalls, they don't have the food or money they need. Only the nobility can afford to take days off, and often do as their food and goods are simply given to them as tax or bought with their vast sums of money," Louise explained as she turned away from the window and sighed. "So, what do we do then?"

"Well, Histoire said it would take a while to get us and the villagers back home, so . . . . Maybe go out for a bit?"

"And do what?" Uni asked Nepgear, who flustered a bit.

"Um, uh, is there a guild to take quests around here?" Nepgear asked as she looked to Louise.

"Nope. There's guilds in the capitol and in larger cities and towns, but those are like merchant guilds and the like. There's nothing really like the Guild in Gameindustri unless you count mercenaries."

"And they are not like guild agents at all, are they?" 5Pb asked anxiously.

"Nope," Louise said simply.

"Okay, so what is there to do around here if we have time to kill then?" Uni asked.

"Work," Louise said with a light sigh. "We're in a small village that has tried to keep itself unknown. There's little to do aside from work."

"Well, could we just go for a walk and make sure everyone is alright? Maybe see if there's anything we can help them with?" 5Pb suggested with a hopeful look on her face.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Nepgear exclaimed happily, while Uni just shrugged and looked to Louise. "If we go out, anything we'll have to look out for?" Nepgear asked as Brave came down the stairs behind them.

Louise looked at Nepgear who was already heading toward the door and quickly interposed herself in the way, grabbing the handle first. "If we are going to go out we'll have to be careful. The town may have been saved, but the Tritanian army is still nearby and they have guards around."

"It'll be fine, wont it, they'll just think we're tourists!" Nepgear exclaimed.

"Haaaaa, they don't have tourists here," Louise groaned, only to see Nepgear looking straight at her with cutesy eyes. "Fine, we'll just have to be careful to not be seen by anyone important I guess," Louise said as she opened the door and took a step to leave, only to find herself face to face with a person she had hoped not to see.

Agnes De Milan, Chevalier and Musketeer captain of Tristania.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Agnes De Milan was not happy.

After being present to Count Mott's information, and the information that his agent divulged, The Queen gave her orders to look into two things. One, the bouncing lights that decimated the Albion army. Two, the group of girls who, according to Siesta, were those same lights and one of whom could be Louise Valliere herself.

It angered her greatly. She had always been by Henrietta's side, had seen her suffer the disappearance, and subsequent assumption of her passing, had seen the grief it had caused her. The whole of Tristania, especially the nobility, knew it had hurt her, yet she still ascended to the throne when her marriage to a Germanian prince fell through, she still held her head high as her mother could not, and she still did her best for all of Tristania!

And then Mott's girl suddenly brings up that she thinks one of those girls masquerading as deities could be Louise La Blanc De la Valliere? She suddenly gives that tiny piece of hope that can't possibly be true, that will only hurt Henrietta more!

It angered her so much, she had nearly chased down Count Mott and verbally berated him, yelled at him, demanded he hand over the girl siesta so she could be dealt with. But she didn't, couldn't, wouldn't do that or it would get her in trouble, it would endanger her, and would hurt Henrietta as well.

So here she was, walking into the village of Tarbes, a Village apparently full of nothing but heretics who did not believe in the founder, looking for a bunch of girls who were masquerading as deities of all things. Worse still, if she was able to find them, and confirm that they had indeed been the ones to devastate the Albionese forces, she was to ask them to appear before the Queen and court. The public reason would be to thank them for what they had done, while the real reason was to discern if they were a danger, or could be used as, despite Count Mott and siestas words, General Gramont still wanted to use them, and Cardinal Marzipan still wanted to ascertain their intentions.

It was a nightmare of mixed emotions and plans that would only get worse as more nobles discovered their identity if it truly was what Siesta said.

Letting out another sigh, Agnes walked down the main road of the village, noting to herself that a number of the villagers were taking glances at her, and doing very poorly at hiding their feelings about her presence. She had been through the village before in the past and had nothing like this occur, which added credence to what Siesta had said and made Agnes worry about one thing that Mott, General Gramont, and Henrietta were seemingly not thinking about.

If these villagers were so crazy in believing that a bunch of girls were their goddesses, would they let them leave?

As a musketeer she had her own fair share of dealing with fanatics, and had even fought a cult of humans that worshiped elves once, and her experience told her that the more fanatical someone's beliefs, the more dangerous they could be.

Agnes shook her head and glanced around, her eyes falling on the village tavern. With the village being as small as it was, the Tavern was the only place of large enough size to house five girls without it being cramped or complicated. Best to start with what was easy, checking the tavern, and speaking to its owner.

"Do you need something miss?" Came a gruff and wary voice from Agnes's side.

Turning to it she found a man, likely in his late thirstiest, leaning on a fencepost looking at her warily. But his eyes were also glancing to the side, toward the tavern as well. "I am simply looking for something, nothing you need to concern yourself with," Agnes said, watching his expression become worried.

"Nothing here, and with how many soldiers are still wandering around, I don't see why a musketeer like you'd need to be here. The village is perfectly safe with all the soldiers about. Too many of em if you ask me," the man said quickly, seeming to be hoping to keep Agnes's attention.

"Well it's not my decision to make," Agnes said in mock concern as she began to turn away from him. "Now I'll have to ask you to excuse me, I have duties to attend to."

"Unless those duties are being an alcoholic, there no need to go to the tavern, they don't open till the afternoon," the man said seriously, his tone verging on attempting to be intimidating.

"That's good then, as I need to speak to its owners. Good day to you!" Agnes said curtly as she walked off, hearing the man shuffle in place with nervousness and worry.

Now she knew she was on the right track. The girls that Siesta mentioned were likely staying at the tavern, and were probably there right now. Walking straight towards the tavern, and feeling the eyes of easily a half dozen villagers on her, Agnes came up to the door and reached for the handle, only for the door to open inward on its own.

There in front of her in the doorway and just beyond, were the five girls she was looking for, she was sure of it. Black, blue, blonde, pink, red, their hair colors were varied, but more important was how strange their clothing looked. Finely made like that of a nobles, but in designs she had never seen before. One was even showing a surprising amount of skin, but what truly grabbed Agnes's attention was the girl in front, the Blonde girl. Her eyes were a bright blue and her hair long, but something about her was, uncanny.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you going in?" the blonde girl asked as she, and those with her stepped to the sides.

Agnes's eyes went wide in both surprise and shock as she realized why the blonde woman was so uncanny. She was the same height as Louise had been, her hair was almost the exact same length and style, and her voice was the exact same! This woman's body was more mature, having more curves than the Valliere third daughter had, but she now knew why Siesta had sounded so sure about this girls identity.

Looking at her in the flesh, it was hard to refute, but while hair could be dyed, one's eye color could not be changed. Finding out if these girls were the ones Siesta figured however was still a priority though, and with them right in front of her, there was only one thing to do.

Talk.

"Thank you, but actually, I'm here to speak with any villagers or travelers in the village about what they may have seen last night. Could I ask to speak to you all for a while?" Agnes asked, making sure her tone was cool and calm, but also commanding enough so that the girls would know it was not a request. It was a demand, an order!

"Er, uh, sure I guess," the blonde said as she looked to the side, then back at Agnes with a strange glint in her eyes.

"Then please, let's take a seat inside," Agnes said as she gestured to a table just behind the girls. The girls, looking uncertain, nodded and went over to the table, allowing Agnes to grab a chair for herself, and place it closest to the door side of the table. A casual statement that they would not run. "Allow me to begin; I am Agnes De Milan, a Chevalier of Tristania, as well as the captain of the musketeers of Tristnia, serving directly under her majesty Queen Henrietta. May I ask your names?"

"Well, okay," the pink haired girls spoke up, seeming both uncertain, but also friendly all at once. "My name is Nepgear, and these are my friends, Uni, Louise, Brave and 5PB."

Agnes'a mind skipped a bit as she was introduced to them. Not only were their names downright outlandish or ridiculous, the blondes name was even Louise? Why was her name normal? Was this some kind of test from on high or something ridiculous like that? No, it was just a coincidence, it had to be. Louise Valliere disappeared, likely kidnapped by an enemy of the Valliere family and killed, or sold off as a slave to a foreign land. Expecting her to return would just hurt Henrietta, it had to be coincidence! "I see, those are interesting names. Are they foreign perhaps? Where are you all from?"

"Well, you know, were from far away and, we're, just traveling, from far away I mean," Uni said, sounding very obviously uncertain in her words, like she was tying her best to not say anything explicit.

"I see, I considered Rub al Kahli to be where you are from, but your clothing doesn't match. They are interesting clothes; may I ask if they are normal where you come from?" Agnes asked next.

"For the most part yes," Nepgear answered simply and to the point. Thought Agnes noticed that the girl named Louise seemed agitated a bit, but was hiding it almost well enough to not be noticed.

"I see. So you all are nobles then?" Agnes asked accusingly.

"No! I mean, no, the nobility, the idea of it, was abolished from our land, a long time ago," Louise spoke up almost too quickly for her own good.

Agnes raised an eyebrow at her. "Your land has no nobility you claim? I find that difficult to believe. How would such a land function properly?"

"The lands are commanded by leaders that the people respect, along with a number of people who work under and with them to keep the land running smoothly," Brave explained calmly.

Agnes looked at her, realizing that, of all five girls, the ones named Louise and brave seemed to be holding back the most information. So she looked at the most timid looking one, the one with the strangest name, and smiled softly before speaking up. "I see. You were Miss, five peep beep, was it?"

"Uh, 5PB," She replied, looking both embarrassed and annoyed at Agnes's gross mispronunciation of her name.

"Ah, my apologies, your name is rather strange so I was unable to pronounce it well. You girls are travelers, correct?"

"Y-yes,"

"From this, far off land," Agnes said with a nod as she looked at 5PB for a second more. "May I ask if you have other clothes on you? While ingesting looking your clothing does not appear to be well suited for travel."

"Oh uh, their fine." 5Pb answered, the other four starting to look annoyed at Agnes focusing her attention on the seemingly most timid girl. Good. It would make them give something up in conversation.

"I see. That's fine then. "Were you in this village last night?"

"We- we were-" 5PB began to say before Louise suddenly stood up and slammed her hands onto the table.

"Why are you interrogating our friend?" She demanded to know. "You say you want to ask questions, but this is nothing but a rude interrogation!"

Agnes looked at Louise, the similarity between her and Louse Valliere becoming shockingly closer in her mind. Luckily, she had finally gotten the piece of information she needed. "Because it is essentially just that. The village was evacuated to a nearby cave last night during the battle, yet when I asked if you were in the village, she began to say yes. You have been lying to me, a Muskateer of the Triatania. Now, where are you from, really!"

"A far away land," Uni stated, seeming rather angry. Not that Agnes cared.

"What is it called?" Agnes pressed as she leaned forward, using the motion to both intimidate, and rest a hand on the butt of her flintlock.

"Why does it matter? Why do you need to know?" Uni pressed as she stood up from her chair, prompting Brave to do so as well.

"Because unknowns in our country on the eve of battle that may have altered it are of importance! Now, you will answer my question!" Agnes stated.

The five girls looked at her for a few seconds, the pink haired one looking like she might say something, when suddenly the one named Louise stood up. "We're done here, good day Miss Milan," She stated as she turned to walk away from the table.

Agnes had had enough. "Halt!" She cried as she stood up, drew her pistol, and pointed it at Louise, surprising the others. "You all are hereby under arrest for possibility of sedition against the crown, and for refusing to answer my questions!"

Silence reigned for many seconds, Agnes pointing a gun at Louise, the other four girls standing and staring at her like angry predators, and Louise facing away, Agnes unable to see her face. Then, much to Agnes's surprise, the girl began lightly chuckling to herself.

"What is so funny?" Agnes asked on the verge of anger. After all, who chuckled to themselves when at gunpoint?

"Everything," Louise said as she turned around and startled Agnes a bit with her bright, iridescent green eyes with an odd symbol in them. Had her eyes not been blue before? Then, before Agnes could react, Louise was suddenly holding a long Spear against her neck, its deep green coloration making Agnes pause for a second before the reality hit her. They were now in a standoff.

"You, where did you get that from?" Ages asked slowly to not spook the girl holding a spear, with a rather long edge on its tip, to her throat.

"You would like to know that, wouldn't you?" Loiuise asked with a grin as her eyes stayed glowing. "You'd want to know a lot."

"Uh, Louise, your eyes are glowing," 5PB spoke up nervously, but also in a clearly worried tone. "And you sound like you um, getting serious."

Louise looked at her for a second. Blinked. Then shut her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them her eyes were blue again and somehow her presence felt less oppressive to Agnes. The spear was still at the throat though. "Better?"

"Yes, you are fine now," 5Pb said with a soft smile that, to Agnes, felt very out of place.

"Good, that was close," Louise said with a sigh.

Just as the sound of footfalls came down the stairs and a young man in the cloth of a priest came down the stairs." Goddesses, Lady histoire wishes to speak to you about-" He stopped talking as he noticed the situation, then noticed Agnes, visibly recognized her, and paled. "Oh, uh, how much trouble am I in?"

"So you are those heretical goddesses!" Agnes stated matter of factly.

"A load of trouble!" Uni declared with a sigh.

"Uh, what do we do now then?" Nepgear asked worryingly.

"That is the question isn't it?" Louise said with a sigh.

"You are the entities that helped defend this village. The queen will wish to speak to you. Come with me to meet her," Agnes stated.

"Don't order us around!" Uni snapped.

"You are on Tristania's soil. If the crown orders it, you do it!" Agnes snapped back.

"Or what!" Uni said as she materialized her weapon in her hands and pointed it at Agnes, making her eyes go wide for a variety of reasons.

"You, how, impossible!" Agnes declared at both the sudden appearance of the weapon, and the fact she recognized it as some kind of long rifle.

"Should we knock her out?" Brave suggested as she walked around the table to behind Agnes. She tried to move, but felt the spear rest against her neck, and the barrel of the gun poke her in the side from across the table.

"That . . . . . is certainly an option," Louise mused.

"But, isn't that a bit mean?" Nepgar asked, instantly becoming Agnes's favourite of the five girls.

"True," Louise said with a sigh before looking straight at Agnes. "As much as a part of me wants to say hi, the queen can come find us if she wants to speak. Also, if anyone in this village come to harm, well, things may happen," Louise said as she let go of her spear, it disappearing before hitting the floor, into sparkles of blue and green.

"What? Are we, letting her go?" Uni asked unsurely.

Louise just slowly nodded.

Uni, though looking perturbed, removed her rifle from Agnes's stomach. And then put it back when Agnes did not lower her pistol. "Put it away!"

"You are meeting the queen and coming with me to do so," Agnes said confidently.

"And I told you that if she wants to speak to us, she can come find us. We are not beholden to her, or your, demands," Louise stated without turning around.

"You do not ignore a royal decree!" Agnes shouted.

Just before Brave smacked her in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious.

"Dammit why does nothing go right?" Louise groaned as she fell to her knees after a few seconds of silence. "Stuck in Halkeginia, and now Agnes finds us? There's no way she won't report what she remembers to the queen. Ugh."

"Uhm, is it that bad?" Nepgear asked.

"The queen, no. the other nobility, definitely," Louise responded with a sigh as she stood up and let out another sigh. "Henrietta is a good person who cares for those around her and wants what's best for her people but . . . she's very nice. Other nobles won't be nice; they'll make demands and all kinds of statements and action if it advanced their standing. It would all depend on who is there if we meet her."

"You don't want to, huh?" 5Pb asked.

Louise shook her head. "No, I really don't. She was one of my only true friends, and I can only imagine how my . . . death, affected her. But the real reason is if I meet her, is that my old family are high ranking, and my old mother might be there too. Tristania's cardinal as well."

"So a member of the local faith," Brave stated as her face soured a bit, remembering the other one they had dealt with.

"From what I hear, Cardinal Marazin is a good and just person," Jonasia said from where he was by the stairs. "Though I have not met him myself."

"Doesn't matter. As long as we don't meet the queen, or anyone else important, we'll be fine. Hopefully we can go home with the villagers before anyone else pops up," Louise said as she looked to Jonasia. "What did Histoire need us for?"

"Something about a guild terminal thing?" Jonasia replied, unsure of the terminology.

The girls all looked to each other and nodded. "I'll go and, deposit the musketeer outside somewhere safe, go on ahead," Brave said as she picked up and tossed Agnes over one shoulder as if she was a bag of potatoes.

"Alright, come back as soon as you can, hopefully Histoire isn't going to give us a quest we have little choice but to do," Uni hoped aloud.

"I shall try," was all Brave said as he four of them followed Jonasia back upstairs.

The bedroom was how it had been left, except for Fleur seemed rather drained, and Histoire had an impatient look on her face that disappeared as soon s she noticed the CPU candidates enter the room. "Oh good, you return," She said as she perked up and seemed to fall back into a professional attitude. As professional as one could be while sitting on a floating book.

"Yes, did talking with flour and Jonasia go well?" Nepgear asked, causing both Jonasia and fleur to suddenly look pale.

"As well as could be expected. In a world without our level of technology, there will be much for them, and the other lost citizens to learn. But that will come later. I require the four of you candidates to surround this Terminal while holding hands.

"Uh, it's my-" Nepgear tried to say, only for Histoire to snap back at her.

"I realize what it is, Nepgear. For now it is acting as a terminal so that is what I am calling it! Now surround this, hold hands in a circle and focus on the power you have through your HDD's without invoking them!"

The three CPU's immediately went over to the 'terminal' and did as Histoire had told them. Then, much to Jonasia and Fleurs surprise, glowing lights and energy form around them, as did a small circle of energy off to the side. With a flash the energy stopped, and in the spot to the side was a slab of bright gray metal with a sheet of glass on an angles side of it and off collared markings below it.

"There, using your energies as an anchor I have managed to send you a Guild terminal I had IF get me," Histoire said in a triumphant and proud tone.

"Uh, what's the point of a guild terminal if it doesn't have power?" Uni asked as she, Nepgear and louise let go of each other's hands.

"I have managed to connect it to the cities power system, and it should stay connected even when our call ends," Histoire said as the terminal itself suddenly lit up. "I have sent it to you for a number of reasons. First off, it will act as the anchor between dimensions so that I can contact you again, and when I figure out how, bring you all back to Gameindustri. Second, it will allow those lost citizens to input their family information, including lineages, for the various nations systems. It also has a number of information videos that the lost citizens should watch so that they can learn a bit to prepare themselves for Gameindustri's culture. And finally, a quest formation algorithm has been added to that terminal."

"um, what does that mean?" Nepgear asked politely.

"Normally quests are given by people. The algorithm will allow it to form quests by listening to rumours and requests from the lost citizens. Meaning, while I find a way to return you all to Gameindustri, you should take the quests it will give you, as they should lead you to other lost citizens, and fleur has told me that over the years some moved elsewhere. This should allow you find them all, and deal with other problems that may appear."

"Essentially, it should keep us busy, so that we don't get into trouble, is that it?" Louise asked as she walked backwards and dropped onto the edge of a bed.

"Yes," Histoire admitted with a sigh. "The last thing anyone should want is to cause a diplomatic incident, or cause trouble when there is no need. Understand?" Histoire asked as her image began to get grainy and covered in static.

"Uh, Histoire, you look to be breaking up," Nepgear commented without answering Histoire's question.

"Yes, that is one thing I need to fix before I can bring you all back. Unlike the ultra-dimension, the one you are in has very few similarities, so the connection is never good. Stay safe, and do not get into trouble! I will try to contact you soon and-" Histoire said, stopping before she could finish as the connection dropped.

The room was completely quiet for a few seconds before Uni let out a heavy sigh. "Don't cause trouble huh, looks like we already failed that one, it's like your sister has cursed us Nepgear.

"What does my sister have to do with this?!" Nepgear exclaimed.

"Nothing, it's probably my fault," Louise said as she fell backwards and laid on the bed, 5PB coming over and sitting down beside her after another few seconds of silence.

"So, what is the plan then?"

"No idea. I don't want to think right now," Was all Louise said with a groan as she began muttering quietly about Agnes. With a number of words that neither 5PB or Nepgear would repeat.

"Well, why don't we move this terminal somewhere better where the villagers can access it?" Nepgear suggested as she looked at Fleur. "Everyone will need to learn how to use it and input their information after all, right? Does that sound fine?"

"Uh, well, it would have to be tonight, otherwise many people are busy working," Fluer explained.

"Well, that still works," Uni said with a shrug. "Can the whole village it in the area downstairs?"

"It would be tight, but it is possible," Fleur said as she glanced at the guild terminal. "I have to ask though, how heavy is that thing, and how are we supposed to keep it hidden?"

"Does it really need to be hidden though?" Jonasia spoke up as he walked over to it. "I mean, it's what will bring them home right?"

"That's why it needs to be hidden," Fleur replied. "Just think what the monarchy or some nobles would do if they found it was some 'heretical device'."

"Ah, I see you point," Jonasia said just as the machine pinged, making him jump a bit. "What is . . . is it supposed to do that?"

"Well, maybe?" Nepgear said as he walked over and tapped its screen a couple times. "It's, already set up a bunch of quests for us."

"Great, just what we needed," Uni said with a groan, recalling some of the very long and annoying quests they had gone on in the past. "Are they at least simple? Or are they like the ones that got us into fights with ancient dragons?"

"Um, finding people, bringing them to the village-" Nepgear began to recite them.

"So their normal, thank goodness!" Uni exclaimed with a sigh. "Just accept them all and let's be done with it!"

"Uh, is that a good idea? I mean, sometimes quests like those dragons sneak in, right?" 5PB asked.

"They'll all get done eventually," Louise muttered from on the bed. "Uni and Nepgear will make sure of that. They can't help but finish all of them."

"Well, I suppose . . . . Are you okay?" 5Pb asked Louise quietly as Nepgear and Uni both bean fiddling with the terminal, accepting quests and looking them over.

"I'm . . . . . fine, I guess," Louise answered quietly. "I just, I'm a little stressed. I never figured I'd be back here and knowing that things have continued without me, knowing that Henrietta is hurting . . . I just . . . . . I'm conflicted."

"That makes sense. I can only imagine what it must feel like, dying and coming back here I mean. Do, do you think they know what happened? The Queen and your old family I mean?" 5PB asked just a quietly.

"No, and honestly I'm afraid to find out. If, if they think I just disappeared, they think I'm still alive-."

"But you are, well, kind of," 5PB caught herself ,knowing that being reborn as a CPU was not the same as being alive in this world probably, especially since she was now not related to them at all anymore. "They must miss you though, right?"

Louise laid an arm over her eyes, hiding them from view. "Henrietta, Cattleya, maybe my parents. But I doubt it."

"Well. Do you want to see them?"

"I . . . I don't know, I just don't know Lyrica. I just don't," Louise said, sounding very conflicted.

"Well, then we wait until you know for sure. Okay?" 5PB suggested calmly. "And I'll be here no matter what you choose, okay?"

"Meanie," Louise said as she moved her arm and smiled. "That's playing dirty."

"You normally only mope after Fenrir's," 5Pb said with her own smile.

"Hmm, you okay Louise?" Nepgear suddenly called out.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired!" Louise called back, sounding much more like herself as she sat up and looked at 5PB. "Thanks Lyrica."

"No problem, what are friends for!" 5Pb said as a thud emanated from the terminal and Uni began grumbling.

"Hey Louise, can you help us here, this thing is heavier than it looks!"

"Right, so you're done accepting quests for all of us then?" Louise asked as she hopped off the bed and walked over to help.

"Yep, now we just need to get this downstairs so we can tell all off the villagers about it!" Nepgear said happily as she, Uni, and Louise all lifted the terminal up, albeit with some difficulty.

"Urk, this thing is, awkward," Louise said with a grunt. "So, what quests did you grab?"

"well there were a few simple ones and a couple of really interesting looking ones so-" Nepgear began until suddenly the screen on the terminal, right in front of Louise's face, lit up and showed a number of accepted quests.

· **Discovery quest – find the two legacies living in the Tristanian Capitol.**

· **Discovery quest – find the legacy living in an orphanage in the Arden forest.**

· **Discovery quest – find the legacy living in Londinium**

· **Political quest – Prove your good intentions to Tristania, it's Queen and Nobility.**

· **Learning quest – Input all legacies information into the Terminal 2/89.**

· **Protection quest – Do not allow this terminal to be damaged. Do not allow it to fall into others hands.**

Louise looked at them for a second before her expression turned angry. "You didn't!?"


End file.
